Serge wrote:

> I think Greece and Spain are as bad as Italy. Mediterranean
> islands are even worse with Crete and Malta. I am more aware
> of Malta, being closer to France, where thousands of raptors,
> warblers (all these being protected species) being slaughtered
> each year, just for fun. Again, there, the government doesn't
> seem to be willing to do anything to stop this...

Malta is an unbelievable place. 3 million birds shot every fall on this tiny
island. The number of hunters is not that great. It seems to be that a
bloodlust has taken hold.

On Sicily, it's traditional on the eve of being married that the groom go out
and kill a few Honey Buzzards. In addition there is a more general season on
blasting as many birds of prey as is physically possible. Along the southern
edge of the island are dozens of shooting posts. The birds crossing the
Mediterranean early in the morning use the hillsides to catch the thermals
which will take then across the island and the channel to the mainland. The
hunters rely on the birds being close to the ground early in the morning to
get their kicks. Doesn't matter whether the bird is killed as long as it is
"removed" from the sky.

All this is illegal under European and as far as I am aware Italian law.


On a brighter note, well sort of. One woman has been crusading for the last
20 years to get this stopped. Tireless campaigning is starting to have some
effect. The BBC showed a program on her work educating the population and
trying to stop the hunters.

Her life has been threatened dozens of times. Several bombs have been placed
under her car. When out catching the hunters she travels with up to 20 member
of the Carbiniere (not sure of the spelling) - a crack Italian police unit.
All carrying machine guns !!!!!!! A few of them have been killed on active
service, in gun fights with the hunters.


The hunters complain that she is disrupting their "traditional" way of life.
A couple of hundred years ago the impact may not have been great, but
traditional practices with comtemporary population is not a good combination.
A point worth considering.

To widen the net somewhat ?

What do birders consider themselves as doing when going out birding or more
specifically going to see a rare or unusual bird ?

Is this hunting in a very ritualized form ?


Stuart MacKay