From: fanatic4falcons@yahoo.com
Date: 2014-03-20 23:07
Subject: Re: [KENYABIRDSNET] Re: As the White Storks leave East Africa......
Dear Neil,

Thanks for your message.

There's no doubt that the challenge we're facing is immense but shouldn't that realisation merely harden, rather than weaken, the resolve within each and every conservationist?

I don't know anything about your social circle but I believe that every human being has an innate affinity for wildlife.  However, nowadays the majority haven't been given the opportunity to fully recognise this but, nonetheless, most people are potentially ripe to learn and thereby unlock these inner feelings.

Here are just three (of many) examples to challenge your assertion about only preaching to the converted:
a) Every birdwatcher that each of us knows has family and friends who are often not birders.  We frequently get the chance to interact with such people in a myriad of social settings;
b) Even those working professionally in conservation interact on a daily basis with a high percentage of people who are not converted.  Many colleagues, sales representatives, financial advisors, contractors, suppliers, security guards, cleaners, etc. etc. won't know the difference between a Blackbird and a Bataleur (and all these people have families and friends too).  That's not a criticism, it's a fact.
c) Modern social media offers huge opportunities to enlighten and influence thinking.  I'm a new recruit to Twitter but just one raptor conservation message that I tweeted last week was read by over 2,000 people, and I doubt that more than 10% of these were birders.  Some 'ordinary' people have upwards of 1 million Twitter followers (and each of those followers has followers too, and so on) so that surely provides significant potential to influence both thinking and behavoiur on an absolutely massive scale.

I totally agree with you that effective implementation of the EU Directive has been far too slow in several countries.  However, there has been many major successes.  Here are just two examples that I have witnessed first hand:
a) Despite suffering significant intimidation for more than a decade, which included the fire-bombing of her car, Anna Giordano and her team succeeded in completely silencing the guns on the Sicilian side of the Straits of Messina.  I was fortunate to be able to spend two weeks observing raptor migration in the field there and never heard a shot.  Previously, thousands of birds of prey were being gunned down annually.
b) Likewise, LPO (BirdLife France) have completely eradicated the massive Spring shooting of Turtle Doves at a fabulous migration bottleneck and watchpoint at La Pointe de Grave in Western France.  Tens of thousands of Doves were being killed every year. I witnessed this carnage first hand during my first visit to observe raptor migration.  But despite camping on site on two subsequent occasions during peak season, I saw or heard no shooting at all.

You're right that problems still exist but that doesn't mean that there isn't a large number of committed individuals who are determined to bring this illegal hunting to an end.  Please follow this link (http://www.birdlifemalta.org/view.aspx?id=443#.UyvDS_mSySp) and you'll see that the pressure is being ratcheted up against Malta.  The activity of a few thousand individuals is indefensible and I'm personally optimistic that we will see the guns silenced there too in the coming years.  

History shows that battles can be won even against apparently unassailable odds.  I totally agree that every migrant bird shot down simply for fun is indeed depressing.  But we must surely never, ever, give up hope.

Best regards,

Nick

_____________________________________

---In kenyabirdsnet@yahoogroups.com, <tzbirdatlas@...> wrote :

but Nick

we are always preaching to the converted

what is the birdlife reach in Europe 0.000001%  and the reach of CMS even less.

35 years of the EU directive and Europe allows / condones / whatever .... the continued massacre of millions of birds in France, Italy, Cyprus, Malta .............. 

so what hope for Africa ..............

None really

depressing .. very

 
Neil


On Wednesday, 19 March 2014, 19:00, "fanatic4falcons@..." <fanatic4falcons@...> wrote:
 
Dear Brian,

A depressing and distressing video in equal measure, but thanks for sharing it.

In many countries where White Storks breed they are welcomed by farmers and villagers alike.  Local communities often consider it as a sign of good luck for Storks to breed close-by, and takes steps to protect them,  Some even erect nesting platforms to attract them.

It is regrettable that a relatively small number of mis-guided people in certain countries, particularly along flyways in the Mediterranean region (but elsewhere too) choose to act is such a selfish and irresponsible manner.  This most sickening thing is that there is absolutely no justification for such destructive shooting.  In many cases, it is carried out solely for so-called 'fun'.

Those involved with avian species within CMS (www.cms.int) are deeply concerned about the threat to migratory birds from illegal shooting and trapping.  It is an issue that will be raised at the forthcoming 11th Conference of Parties to CMS later in the year.  120 countries have now ratified CMS and we will be seeking their governments to do more to address this serious problem.

The EC Birds Directive has been in place for almost 35 years, yet there remains a significant problem in certain countries within the European Union.  This demonstrates the scale of the challenge.  However, such knowledge must simply harden our resolve to do more to develop and facilitate alliances between governments, NGOs and other stakeholders to address the problem.  We must also actively engage with responsible hunting organisations and encourage them to assert peer pressure and to promote the introduction of basic ethical standards everywhere.

In a world of increasingly urbanised human populations, we must seize every opportunity to enlighten people about the eco-system benefits and the intrinsic value of birds and other species.  Every voice counts and has the capacity to positively influence others.

Like Brian, let's all keep speaking up for wildlife - we really can't live without it.

Best regards,

NPW