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Help us halt illegal hunting |
Greece
There are about 270,000 licensed hunters in Greece. Hunting without a license is the second most common offence of the hunting regulations in the past six years. Numbers of hunters may be falling due to various factors such as urbanisation, increased financial costs and avian influenza. Most licensed hunters seem to respect the hunting seasons and protected areas. The illegal hunting activities of particular concern in Greece are:
The lawGreek law protects all wild birds except those classed as game. Trapping, luring and falconry are illegal. The Ministry of Agriculture publishes annual regulations, with details of hunting seasons and quarry lists, after consultation with the Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS - BirdLife in Greece), among others. Hunting can be restricted in harsh weather but whenever this is put into practice, there is controversy. The competent authorities are usually reluctant because of local protests. Enforcement of the hunting regulations is carried out by the forestry authority and a number of guards employed by the Regional Hunters' Federations, 250 in total, and another 70 employed by local hunting societies usually for short term periods. The effectiveness of the guards varies locally, but is generally inadequate as there are too few in relation to the size of the areas they are required to cover. Conservation actionIn 2002, HOS and BirdLife International successfully campaigned against the introduction of spring hunting. The European Commission accordingly withdrew its legal procedure against Greece. In autumn 2005, HOS took action on Santorini island where artificial ponds were used for luring and trapping migrant songbirds for the purpose of eating or selling as cage birds. As a result, the forest authorities launched a large scale operation and destroyed the traps on the island. Recent lack of resources hampered the continuation of HOS's work to prevent the hunting of protected species. This is part of an initiative with the RSPB, funded by the Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation and AG Leventis Foundation. Further funding is being sought so more of this work can be carried out. The RSPB supports HOS both financially and by giving advice on a range of bird conservation activities. What you can doIf you want to know more about illegal hunting in Greece, contact the Hellenic Ornithological Society: This project is supported by the AG Leventis Foundations. Last modified: 29 June 2006 | Related websites |
Male pallid harrier shot illegally on Malta - (BirdLife International)
Adult male swallow in flight - Graham Catley
Turtle dove with injury to neck caused by illegal trapping - Guy Shorrock (rspb-images.com, Ref: 2000_1901_000)