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Trials of the migrants in Europe

To: "birding-aus" <>
Subject: Trials of the migrants in Europe
From: "Alan Gillanders" <>
Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 13:37:42 +1000
G'day fellow birders,
 
Received the following depressing news from an Italian friend today.
 
If you are easily upset, don't read on!!!
 
Regards,
Alan
 
 Hunters are behaving the usual way; in Sicily wildlife rescue centres report injured (or killed) kestrels, buzzards, ospreys, Short-toed Snake-Eagles, flamingoes, Marsh-Harriers, storks who were migrating towards Africa. On the first day, a poacher was found by my colleagues in the mountain area north/west of Milan with 28 protected birds (different finches) shot; nearby a 13 year old kid with his grandpa was practicing hunting killing other protected birds (flycatchers). The old guy put himself in BIG troubles for breaking the weapon laws. South of Milan another guy was found having killed a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor) - highly protected in Europe - and he's going to face a rather heavy fine. I found a bloody stupid who shot a Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) thinking it was an Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis). He'll be fined more than 1,000 AU$. In total this is nothing if you consider that a mother bear with her 1 year old cub has been poisoned in central Italy where a population of 50 is left. Unfortunately, we get only a tiny percentage of the law breakers, and they know it. But in this period the worst danger does not come from the stupid or the poachers, but those making the laws. For example, the Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) is protected in Europe, but the legislation allows the hunting of small quantities under strictly
controlled conditions: the INFS (National Institute for Wildlife) set this "small quantity" for 2003/04 at 52.000. Well, the Regional Government of Veneto (the region of Venice, noth-east Italy) published a law authorising 60.000 hunters to kill a maximum of 40 bramblings each: this makes 2.400.000... As you see, a pen can make much more damage than a gun!
Saturday I'll be up in the mountains too...
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