Millions of migratory birds are trapped, hunted and killed every year on their migration routes, glue sticks, fog nets and wild shooting are just some of the killing methods in North Africa and in China
Dr. Assaf Rosenthal
Every birder knows that the male birds sing to attract the attention of the females and to announce territory he controls. Not so accurate because then why do the males continue to sing even in their harsh areas - in Africa? There is no nest, no territory and singing is a risk because it attracts predators.
Two researchers Claire Spottiwood from the Goethe University in Frankfurt and Miorna Sorensen from the University of Cambridge studied songbirds that nest in Europe and spend the winter in Africa. It turns out that the males continue to sing mainly "to practice and improve their singing" and thus increase their chances when they return to Europe to nest and breed.
Beautiful and interesting, but what brings me to refer to this is the fact that many of those "practitioners" and their partners lose their lives on the way to Africa and again on the way back to Europe. Millions of migratory birds are trapped, hunted and killed every year on their migration routes, glue sticks, mist nets and wild shooting are only some of the killing methods.
The hunted birds are sold in markets for food, decoration or taxidermy. Hunting and catching birds is part of the centuries-old "tradition" in the Middle East and North Africa. However, in recent decades, the "tradition" has turned into a criminal killing and trading activity that puts species at risk of extinction. What was "tradition" has become with the help of "efficiency and development" methods a killing spree, something that may make the sky quiet.
Every year more than six million birds are caught and hunted mainly by hundreds of kilometers of nets spread along the coasts of North Africa and Sinai. It is estimated that every year about two million black-capped cycads are killed by branches coated with glue.
In an article based on personal experience: the Bedouins in North Sinai set up nets about 5 meters high and 50 meters long, the nets are mainly intended for peace birds, but songbirds are also caught in them. These are also sold in the markets of El-Arish, Rafah and Gaza. In Egypt there is a law that should limit the number of hunted birds by shortening the nets, determining the distance between nets and prohibiting more than one row of nets. Only peaceful ones are allowed to be captured. In the years we ruled Sinai, we carried out violent surveillance by driving along the coast, tearing down nets and releasing songbirds. As far as I know, today there is no enforcement.
For a long time, on "World Migration Day" UN representatives have been calling for immediate action to stop the wild killing of birds by saying: "Go out and listen to the songs of the birds" to appreciate their importance.
The killing of birds is added to the loss of habitats, all this in dimensions that cause the mass extinction of species, and those that were common are today facing disappearances to such an extent that the sky will be silent.
On June 5, Angola will host World Environment Day under the slogan "Go Wild for Life". This slogan will accompany the international campaign to stop the trade in wild animals. After "World Migratory Bird Day" (World Migratory Bird Day) in mid-July, the first meeting of a task force established by (BirdLife International) and the "Convention on Migratory Species -CMS" will be held in Cairo.
The task force backed by European governments and organizations such as Interpol, and UN enforcement forces is supposed to enforce the ban on killing migratory birds in the Mediterranean countries. When NGOs will give information and help.
The task force that will be established will work to change the hunter's methods by conforming to international laws, and local police and judicial forces will also be trained. The intention is to copy the idea to the whole world.
The Secretary of the United Nations calls for an increased international effort to preserve the sites that the migratory birds need for their survival, since the migratory birds are an essential part of the environment on which we depend, and from the conference in Angola there will be a call to stop the trade in wild animal species. We wish you success.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
Why do birds fly in triangular formations and how does this relate to cycling?
4 תגובות
To her daughter and anonymous
Your hungry people trade in opium without accounting to anyone, trade in human beings with great cruelty, engage in occasional robbery and piracy, and in fact there is no limit and limit to their cruelty. You pity them. What does this mean about you?
And slaughtering cows is allowed? And what about slaughtering chickens? The Western hypocrisy here screams to the sky. Hungry people look for food wherever possible. I promise everyone that if someone floods Sinai or North Africa with cattle or sheep, no one will bother to hunt birds there.
And they will still find supporters and advocates for the Arab subculture
Perhaps the living conditions of these Bedouins and Africans should be improved. What will they do when there is not enough sustenance and food. Because then there will be justification for punishment, fines. A person who has other means of livelihood, and still harms nature, is a criminal