The United Kingdom fosters what may be the most vibrant and fully-developed birding community on the planet, and there is at least one or two Germans out there who love nature deeply and truly. So why is illegal killing of birds such a widespread practice throughout Europe? “Birds are shot, trapped, caught with nets, glued to lime-sticks or even soaked with lethal poisons to lure and kill other birds… The creativity of those who break the law to kill a bird is appalling!” Read the full report by BirdLife International for more disturbing facts about illegal killing of birds throughout Europe.
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.
Hang on Mike slaughtering birds/wildlife has hardly been an exclusive European pastime; Passenger Pigeons? Not that I’m condoning what happens but persecution is a global problem not one restricted to Europe.
You may have a point, Alan, but I tend to attribute the ecological blight caused by Americans to stupidity, not spite. Hunger and greed also play prominent roles.
Europeans are always good at pointing fingers towards other
countries, no matter in which regard, and tell them how to do things.
And this shows once again that they can’t really take care of their own problems.
There are people in Europe trying to raise awareness and protect. But as usual, the voices are often not heard.
I remember seeing a sign in a protectorate in Hungary with a rare
Heron pictured on it, some text in Hungarian and a price tag. I was a bit bewildered until one of my friends translated it to me. It was a warning to so called hunters what the fine is for killing a bird of that species.
And now that at places like Portugal the illegal hunting gets harder, those people switch over to Egypt.
And what’s going on here in Kuwait is just pretty much beyond words too.
Humankind sometimes really makes me sick, no matter where they come from 🙁
My brain is a bit fuddled from too much sun today, can’t think of what else I was going to write.
(And thanks for the link. I went like ‘huh?’ when I checked to whom it goes :P)
Do headlines overgeneralise?
(Nicole : Europeans are always good at pointing fingers towards other
countries, no matter in which regard, and tell them how to do things.
And this shows once again that they can’t really take care of their own problems) As a European ( Swedish) I’m deaply offended by your generalisation. Hunting, trapping and eating bird is a practice that has been around since man start walking this earth. That is not to say it isn’t a foul practice, in these days we should definately know better. Still most Europeans don’t hunt. There is a strong lobby aginst hunting. Meetings, like the one in Cyprus is held to try to locate the problems and find solutions that could work for the whole European union. We also face the problem that most birds in Europe are migratory and thus more vulnerable. We might recreate wetland and marshes and restore habitat in the north. But it doesn’t help much if the birds are killed on their way back and forth, or if their habitat in the south is destroyed. I think the meeting shows that there is much to be done not just in Europe, but on a global scale since birds are true Globe Trotters.
Sorry for generalizing.
If you read the rest of my comment though, you would have maybe gotten the idea that I didn’t mean it that way.
*sigh*
Beautiful shot.
Sydney – City and Suburbs