Be still, my beating wings: hunters kill migrating birds on their 10,000km journey to Australia

MAY 25, 2020

by Eduardo Gallo-Cajiao, The Conversation

It is low tide at the end of the wet season in Broome, Western Australia. Shorebirds feeding voraciously on worms and clams suddenly get restless.

Chattering loudly they take flight, circling up over Roebuck Bay then heading off for their northern breeding grounds more than 10,000 km away. I marvel at the epic journey ahead, and wonder how these birds will fare.

In my former role as an assistant warden at the Broome Bird Observatory, I had the privilege of watching shorebirds, such as the bar-tailed godwit, set off on their annual migration.

I'm now a conservation researcher at the University of Queensland, focusing on birds. Populations of migratory shorebirds are in sharp decline, and some are threatened with extinction.

We know the destruction of coastal habitats for infrastructure development has taken a big toll on these amazing birds. But a study I conducted with a large international team, which has just been published, suggests hunting is also a likely key threat.

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French campaigners go to EU over hunting and trapping of birds

Official complaint lodged with EU says rules breached on hunting and trapping

Kim Willsher in Paris

Mon 1 Apr 2019 17.48 BSTLast modified on Tue 2 Apr 2019 07.32 BST

Bird protection campaigners are to lodge an official complaint with the European Union accusing France of breaking rules on hunting and trapping and failing to protect endangered species.

The Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) is using the 40th anniversairy of the EU’s “bird directive”, which outlaws the “massive or non-selective” killing of birds to highlight what it deems cruel and illegal methods.

These includes gluesticks covered in adhesive lime and set in trees or bushes to catch birds when they land, traps that crush the birds with heavy stones, and nooses.

The LPO says it was forced to act after the French government refused to respond to its complaints and the state council approved gluesticks, saying the method was traditional and there was no other satisfactory method of trapping the birds.

Stone crush traps, once banned for a century, were legalised in France in 2005 and are also considered unnecessarily cruel as often the birds do not die instantly.

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Licensed hunters killing birds in droves across Rahim Yar Khan

By Farooq Sindhu

Published: July 9, 2018

RAHIM YAR KHAN: Licensed hunters are taking advantage of the seasonal migration of birds and hunting well beyond the permitted numbers. They are preying on birds such as Talair, green parrots, Lali and wild birds, locals in villages told Express News. They blamed the mafia for the activity.

Villagers said lenient wildlife laws were allowing hunting groups to take advantage of the situation and hunt native birds in excess. After profiteering from green parrots, which have virtually disappeared over the years, hunters are killing Lali, another native bird that can be seen in the open around the region.

They maintained that the hunters extend long bird traps in the fields to catch snakes and Lali, a bird whose meat is in large demand in the food and restaurant industry. They revealed the hunters usually operate in remote areas so that they can get a large catch without being noticed.

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Industrial-scale hunting in Tunisia 'is currently legal'

08/02/2018

A recent Facebook post by the Lebanese Hunting Club, dated 10 January but subsequently erased, used horrifying images to advertise hunting trips in Tunisia. However, while they shocked the internet, the carnage they depict is currently legal in the country.

Widely shared by conservation organisations and activists, the graphic invitation for tourists to slaughter excessive numbers of birds in Tunisia provoked wholesale indignation and disgust, who are calling on the country's authorities to eradicate these barbaric but apparently lawful practices.

Tourist hunters in Tunisia are permitted to kill Wild Boar, Golden Jackals, Foxes, mongooses and Genets as well as numerous bird species. To do so, they need only apply to a Tunisian travel agency to organise a hunting trip. They are then provided with a hunting licence (valid for seven days and renewable) and a specialised guide. Depending on the game they target, hunters may also pay a fee to the Tunisian state, which can range from 1,000-2,000 dinars (€ 336-672) per hunter, depending on the time and duration of the trip. Each hunter is also allowed to bring 350 rounds of ammunition.

No quota is set for the killing of thrushes or Common Starlings. In fact, this is the case for more than 30 bird species in Tunisia which are considered legally huntable. The exceptions to this rule are Barbary Partridge and sandgrouse species – for these, each hunter is limited to six and 10 kills per day respectively.

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The Hornbill Hunters of Sumatra

Posted on August 1, 2017By Gregory McCann

Slaughter of magnificent birds in a contradictory culture

In 2011, a Taiwanese businessman named Hsien arrived in Indonesia with a plan to make himself rich and in the process to systematically wipe out one of the world’s most majestic and rarest birds, the helmeted hornbill, Rhinoplax vigil, also known as the “King Hornbill”  in the provinces of Kalimantan and Sumatra.

He has made considerable progress. According to an article on the website Borneo Features titled “Planning a Path to Perdition,” middlemen were recruited to put out the word that there was someone willing to pay US$10 for the head of one helmeted hornbill. Over the next year, according to the article, the middlemen hired a network of people using cars, buses, motorcycles and boats, heading up the great rivers of Borneo, the Barito, Mahakam, Kapuas. In the interior of this vast island, they spent time talking to villagers, telling them they would come every three months to collect, and leaving their telephone numbers, no questions asked.” “I will come here every three months to collect.” “This is my phone number. You can call me if you have a good stock ready for collection, say at least 50 heads.”

Prices have skyrocketed since then, and the organized network of villagers hunting Helmeted Hornbills has expanded throughout all of Sumatra as well as Peninsular Malaysia and Southern Thailand—the entire range for the species.

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Kestrels' strategies for flight and hunting vary with the weather

Even so, these small raptors expend a constant amount of energy per foraging trip

Date: June 7, 2017

Source: PLOS

Kestrels adapt their flight and hunting strategies to weather conditions, including solar radiation, wind speed, and air temperature, according to a study published June 7, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Jesús Hernández-Pliego from Estación Biológica de Doñana, Spain, and colleagues.

Theory predicts that to maximize fitness, foraging animals should gain the most energy for the least cost of time and energy. Hernández-Pliego and colleagues tested this theory in kestrels, small insectivorous falcons that return to their nest to feed their chicks after a foraging trip. Kestrels have the options of commuting via time-saving flapping flights or energy-saving soaring-gliding flights, and of capturing prey via time-saving active hovering flights or energy-saving perch-hunting.

To explore whether the birds' behavioral decisions reflect trade-offs during the commuting and searching parts of foraging trips, the researchers tracked lesser kestrels with GPS and tri-axial accelerometers, which provide data on energy and time budgets in wild animals. The study included six kestrels (four males and two females) from two breeding colonies with in the Guadalquivir river basin of southwestern Spain.

The researchers found that kestrels' behavioral decisions varied with weather conditions. When solar radiation increased -- which strengthens thermal updrafts -- commuting birds replaced flapping with soaring-gliding. When wind speed increased -- which provides a stronger lift -- searching birds replaced perch-hunting with hovering. But kestrels also hovered more when air temperature increased possibly as warmer weather boosts the activity of large grasshoppers, the birds' preferred prey. While flight and hunting strategies varied dramatically with the weather, the researchers also found that the energy expended per foraging trip remained constant. This suggests that the birds have a fixed energy budget per foraging trip and adjust their behavior accordingly when environmental conditions vary.

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Convoy of Qatari royal hunting rare bird attacked in southwestern Pakistan

Mon Jan 16, 2017 2:3PM

A Qatari royal family member on an expedition to hunt rare birds using falcons has come under attack by a group of villagers in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, officials say.

Muhammad Yasar, a local Pakistani official, said on Monday that three security guards were wounded after a group of villagers brandishing guns and knives attacked the convoy of a Qatari royal family member on Sunday evening in the Musakhel district of the troubled province.

"A case has been registered against 25 people," Yasar said.

Arab sheikhs regularly travel to Pakistan to hunt the houbara bustards using falcons.

Meanwhile, a Qatari official involved in the sport of falconry confirmed the assault by a large group of men on the convoy of hunters, which included a royal family member. He, however, declined to identify the individual.

"Qatari hunters apply and pay for government hunting permits and donate to local communities and wildlife conservation," the Qatari official said, adding, "Unfortunately there have been attacks led by armed groups."

The Pakistani government began issuing permits to houbara hunters for royals from the Persian Gulf countries in the 1970s. The move was initially seen as a way to forge diplomatic ties with them after rival India imposed a ban on hunting the birds.

In 2014, a Saudi prince illegally hunted more than 2,000 houbara bustards, which are protected under Pakistani law. The Saudi prince went on a hunting spree for rare birds in province of Balochistan.

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Owls' ability to hunt impaired by noise, research shows

Date: June 2, 2016

Source: Boise State University

Researchers have determined that noise has the potential to degrade owl habitat. The study by Jesse Barber, assistant professor of biology at Boise State University, and Tate Mason, a Boise State alumnus and education coordinator for The Peregrine Fund, is the first to examine the impact of noise on a predatory bird. Their findings were recently published in the journal Biological Conservation under the title "Anthropogenic noise impairs owl hunting behavior."

In the study, northern saw-whet owls hunted mice in a field-placed flight tent under the same acoustic conditions found 50-800 meters (55-875 yards) from a natural gas compressor station.

Owls are specialized avian hunters, and many are particularly well adapted to hunting by ear. In this study, researchers challenged 31 owls to hunt mice by ear (in the absence of light) under varying noise conditions. In this way, the independent effect of noise on hunting could be measured. Data showed that the owls experienced an 8 percent drop in hunting success per decibel increase in noise.

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Malta should consider moratorium on turtle dove hunting, says EU

European commission investigating violations of the EU bird directive after Malta allows 5,000 turtle doves to be shot, says Karmenu Vella

Arthur Neslen

Tuesday 3 May 201616.54 BSTLast modified on Wednesday 4 May 201613.45 BST

 Malta should consider a temporary ban on the shooting of turtle doves which are being driven to extinction by hunting and other pressures, the EU’s environment chief has said.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) put turtledoves on its Red List of species threatened with extinction for the first time last October.

But after a referendum on the issue, Malta said that 5,000 turtle doves could be shot during the country’s two-week spring hunting season, which finished on 30 April.

Karmenu Vella, environment commissioner, said that the commission was already investigating Malta for violations of the EU’s birds directive and would go to court if necessary.

“I have also urged the Maltese government to consider a moratorium on the hunting of turtle doves,” said Vella, who is himself Maltese.

It was not immediately clear whether the commissioner’s appeal was communicated directly to government officials, or if he was merely referring to an interview given to Maltese media over the weekend.

Last week, the IUCN wrote to Vella urging action on a Maltese exemption from the law which allows quail and turtledove shoots. The conservation agency said it broke the birds directive’s rules which forbid hunting species that have an “unfavourable conservation status” or “very low population levels”.

The letter said: “In order to save the turtle dove from a real threat of extinction, IUCN has requested the Commission to apply an urgent moratorium on spring hunting of the species in Malta. This should remain in place until the sustainability and recovery of the turtle dove [populations] can be clearly demonstrated.”

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Anti-duck hunting activists to leave dead birds at Daniel Andrews' office

Carcasses of protected birds killed during the first weekend of Victoria’s duck hunting season to be left on the premier’s doorstep

Australian Associated Press

Monday 21 March 2016 21.23 GMTLast modified on Monday 21 March 201621.24 GMT

The carcasses of protected birds gunned down during the opening weekend of Victoria’s duck hunting season will be left outside the office of the premier, Daniel Andrews, in a plea for him to stop the practice.

Six rare and endangered freckled ducks and a swan were among the dead birds collected at Lake Burrumbeet over the weekend, anti-hunting campaigner Laurie Levy says.

The RSPCA’s mobile animal hospital treated eight birds scooped from the wetlands on Saturday.

The first brought in was a protected red-necked avocet and had to be euthanised because it was in severe respiratory distress.

The rescue team outnumbered the shooters - something that showed duck hunting was a dying sport in Victoria, Levy said.

He wanted the state government to end duck hunting and said activists were planning to leave the bodies of the birds found by the rescue team outside the premier’s office at 10am on Tuesday.

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Malta gives go ahead to shooting of 5,000 endangered turtle doves

Conservationists urge EU to take action against Malta for continuing the spring hunt despite the birds recently being added to ‘red list’ of species at risk of being wiped out

Patrick Barkham

Wednesday 16 March 2016 14.10 GMT

Last modified on Thursday 17 March 201612.27 GMT

Hunters in Malta will be permitted to shoot 5,000 turtle doves this spring despite the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently adding the migratory bird to the “red list” of species at risk of being wiped out.

The Maltese government, the only EU member to allow recreational spring hunting, said it was taking “special measures” to minimise the impact of its shoot on the bird’s plummeting population, cutting the shooters’ allowance from 11,000 birds.

But conservationists said continuing the spring hunt went against the best scientific advice and appealed for the EU to take action against Malta.

“The government has taken the wrong political decision,” said Mark Sultana, chief executive of Birdlife Malta. “Rather than giving weight to the scientific data they opted to open a season with limitations. We do not believe that there is enough will and resources to ensure those limitations will be kept.”

The turtle dove population has fallen by 96% in Britain since 1970 and its numbers have fallen across Europe by more than a third in the last 16 years.

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Penguin cam captures hunt for prey

Little penguins work together to hunt schooling prey

Date: December 16, 2015

Source: PLOS

Little penguins were more likely to work together to hunt schooling prey than solitary prey, according to observations made using animal-borne cameras published Dec. 2, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Grace Sutton from the Deakin University, Australia, and colleagues.

Group foraging in cooperative animals provides predators with advantages over prey, but for less cooperative colonial-breeding predators, like the little penguin, the benefits of group foraging are less clear due to the potential for competition between penguins. The authors of this study used animal-borne cameras on 21 little penguins from two breeding colonies in south-eastern Australia to determine the prey types, hunting strategies, and success of little penguins, a small, marine predator that extensively forages with other little penguins.

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Birds diplomacy: Permit issued to Dubai ruler for export of 25 rare falcons

ISLAMABAD: In wake of birds diplomacy, the federal government has issued a special permit to the ruler of Dubai to export 25 falcons of a rare and endangered species from Pakistan to the UAE, local media quoting sources said today.

This is violation of local wildlife protection laws as well as various international treaties on nature conservation signed by the country.

According to reports quoting highly placed sources, by issuing the permit to Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, the foreign ministry has put at risk the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP-Plus) status given to Pakistan by the European Union. The move will also promote illegal wildlife trade and trafficking.

The reports said Arab hunters used the rare migratory falcons — Saker and Peregrine — to hunt internationally protected houbara bustard whose meat is considered to be an aphrodisiac, though not supported by any scientific research.

This is the second such export permit issued by the government this season. The earlier one was issued a few days ago to Saudi Prince Fahd, who is Governor of Tabuk province. He had attracted global attention last year when news about his hunting 2,100 houbara bustards in Balochistan’s Chagai district appeared in the media.

The export permit “No: DCP (P&I) – 18/6/2015 – 16/Falcons/UAE” was issued in mid-Oct and sent to the UAE Embassy. It stated that the authorities concerned had been requested to accord facilitation for export of the falcons.

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Hunting in South Dakota: 4 Animals Designated Nongame, Endangered, Threatened, and Protected Species

Wednesday, 03 Jun 2015 06:58 PM

By Shana Raley-Lusk

South Dakota's pristine backdrops and plentiful game make it a dream destination for hunters and outdoorsmen around the world. While it is known for both large and small game, South Dakota also is home to a number of species which are off limits when it comes to hunting. These animals are protected because they are either endangered or threatened or have been designated as nongame for some other reason, making it illegal to hunt them.

Here is information about four protected species in South Dakota.

3. Peregrine Falcon

An endangered species in South Dakota, the peregrine falcon has no known nesting sites in the state at this time, though it is still prevalent in other areas of the country. Until 1999, the bird was protected by the federal Endangered Species Act. It remains protected under various other laws, although specific and highly limited use by falconers is now being permitted. Projects are currently in the works to help restore the birds to the region. When new falcons are released into the area, they are fitted with markers so that they may beidentified, according to the Game Fish and Parks Department.

4. Osprey

Although a small group of these rare birds still exists in the Black Hills area, it is rare in other parts of the state. It is listed as threatened in South Dakota but is common in other parts of the country. Efforts currently are being made by the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department to restore this species, although they are considered to be poor candidates for relocating to new areas outside their present nesting area.

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Hunter fined €2,500 for shooting protected bird, licence suspended, gun confiscated

Hunters condemn incident

A hunter was this afternoon fined €2,500 after admitting to having shot dead a protected Cuckoo in Manikata this morning.

Stefan Micallef, 43, of Naxxar, who was taken to court this afternoon, also had his licence suspended for three-and-a-half years. His shotgun and ammunition were confiscated.

Mr Micallef had told the police he shot the bird - a cuckoo - by mistake, thinking it was a Turtle Dove. The applicable fine for shooting this type of bird was between €500 and €2,500.

The police earlier confirmed that they had seized a cuckoo that was illegally shot in the Manikata area and a man was arrested.

In a statement in the afternoon, Birdlife said its volunteers filmed the cuckoo falling from the sky after a shot was heard. A second shot was then heard from the area where the bird fell, and a hunter was observed searching the area and hiding the bird.

The police were called to the site and seized the dead bird from where it had been hidden under a bush. Birdlife said it handed over all video evidence which should help to identify the hunter to the police.

Mr Micallef had posted a message on Facebook following the referendum result last Sunday, thanking everyone who voted yes. He committed himself to doing everything he could “to make sure the law is observed”.

One of the replies to his post said: “You can show us some gratitude by respecting the law and behaving yourselves. A lot of people voted against spring hunting and a lot [of] people have their eyes pinned on you guys for any incident that may happen.”

In a statement, the government said this was a sign that enforcement was working "effectively and immediately". It said that the police were acting on a report from Birdlife.

"Whoever is caught breaking the law will find no protection and will have to face fines which were among the stiffest in Europe for their criminal acts," it said.

The government also said that the government's warning was clear "if there are flagrant illegalities, the season will be closed".

The statement came after several people tweeted about the incident using the hashtag #josephzommkelmtek .

The hunters organisation St Hubert Hunters also issued a statement to "unreservedly" condemn the incident. It called for the appropriate penalties to be applied.

"We emphatically state that given the mandate of the majority in a referendum that ultimately permits spring hunting we will not tolerate any abuse.

"We appeal to all hunters and members of the public to report any illegal hunting activity to the police on telephone number 119," the association said.

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For Saudis and Pakistan, a Bird of Contention

For decades, royal Arab hunting expeditions have traveled to the far reaches of Pakistan in pursuit of the houbara bustard — a waddling, migratory bird whose meat, they believe, contains aphrodisiac powers.

Little expense is spared for the elaborate winter hunts. Cargo planes fly tents and luxury jeeps into custom-built desert airstrips, followed by private jets carrying the kings and princes of Persian Gulf countries along with their precious charges: expensive hunting falcons that are used to kill the white-plumed houbara.

This year’s hunt, however, has run into difficulty.

It started in November, when the High Court in Baluchistan, the vast and tumultuous Pakistani province that is a favored hunting ground, canceled all foreign hunting permits in response to complaints from conservationists.

Those experts say the houbara’s habitat, and perhaps the long-term survival of the species, which is already considered threatened, has been endangered by the ferocious pace of hunting.

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