Belgian nude beach blocked on fears sexual activity could spook wildlife

Wildlife agency says ‘subsidiary activities’ in the dunes would scare off rare lark

Daniel Boffey in Brussels

Mon 23 Jul 2018 10.54 BSTLast modified on Mon 23 Jul 2018 20.35 BST

The Belgian Naturism Federation has come to the defence of its burgeoning membership after the Flemish wildlife agency blocked an application for a second nudist beach in the country on the grounds that bathers’ “subsidiary activities” would pose a threat to a rare bird.

Attempts to gain designated naturist status for a quiet spot near Westende, about 12 miles south of the popular seaside resort of Ostende, hit a snag after objections were raised that sexual activity in the dunes would scare off the locally treasured crested lark, or Galerida cristata.

The Flemish Agency for Nature and Woodland informed the region’s environment minister, Joke Schauvliege, that the lark, whose name derives from the feathers on its head that rise up during courtship, would be alarmed by the activity and would flee.

The dunes themselves were also likely to be damaged by such “subsidiary activities”, the agency said in its formal submission.

A subsequent suggestion that a fence could be established around the dunes where the birds breed was met with scepticism. Steve Vandenberghe, the local mayor in Bredene, where Belgium’s first and only nudist beach is located, told the Flemish daily newspaper Het Nieuwsblad that it would not offer much of a deterrence. “Barbed wire against nudists? Pff. As if a man without clothes cannot get over a barbed wire,” he said.

Continued  

Prison terms and hefty fines for criminal gang smuggling birds of prey

Black kites linked the UK to a European-wide trade in wild-caught birds with forged papers

Following a lengthy trial at Ghent in Belgium, five people have been convicted of being part of a criminal organisation engaged in forging and falsifying permits and documents required to possess and trade in endangered species and for possessing rare birds of prey, reports the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). 

The investigation by the Belgian Federal Police, which lasted in excess of six years, resulted in enforcement action in five countries, including search warrants being executed in the UK by the police and NWCU. 

The four men and one woman were part of a criminal gang that were acquiring some of the rarest birds of prey from the wild and then passing them off as having been bred in captivity by using falsified and forged permits.

Read on

Unusual birds from Belgium arrive at Paradise Park

THREE unusual looking birds have been brought over from Belgium as a new attraction at Paradise Park.

Staff from from Planckendael Zoo near Antwerp, brought the Vulturine Guineafowl, which are usually found in grassland in eastern Africa, to the park in Hayle.

Known for their strange noises, the birds tend to gather in groups and prefer to run rather than fly when they are alarmed.

Curator, David Woolcock, said: “The name of the Vulturine Guineafowl comes from its bald head and neck, which is similar to that of a vulture. They are a striking species with the cobalt blue breast, these three are young and we hope they will breed over the next few years.”

Read more: http://www.cornishman.co.uk/Unusual-birds-Belgium-arrive-Paradise-Park/story-19669726-detail/story.html#ixzz2cRLi4y6Q

Real-Life 'Birds' Remake in Belgium

OSTEND, Belgium—This North Sea resort welcomes millions of visitors a year to its wide sandy beaches and seafood restaurants. But as peak season ends, mayors along the coast are planning crisis talks to tackle a scourge that nearly spoiled the summer of 2012: marauding seagulls.

In a real-life Hitchcock remake, the birds have been snatching food from tourists, attacking people, spreading garbage, and sowing conflict among business owners, scientists and local officials over who is responsible.

Some say European Union regulations need to change; others say property development along the coast is responsible for a problem that didn't explode until recently.

The lesser black-backed gull and the herring gull are protected species in the EU. There are 6,500 breeding pairs in the whole of Flanders, according to Eric Stienen, an expert in colony birds at the Flemish Institute for Nature and Forests. Around 6,000 breed and live on the harbor in Zeebrugge, a container port where they first settled in the 1980s and have remained relatively undisturbed by humans and predators. Most others are concentrated west of the port, in Ostend, he said.

Continued: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444914904577621410792445928.html?mod=googlenews_wsj