From 12 to 15 March 2009, project leader Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby (interviewed) at EuroNatur guided a group of ornithologists into various resting areas of migratory birds along the Adriatic coast of Montenegro for bird watching. In the process, the group witnessed dramatic hunting scenes. Illegal hunting activities took place at all observation spots.
There are three major resting areas of migratory birds at the Adriatic Sea in Montenegro. Firstly, the old salt-mine in Tivat (Solila Tivat), then the Buljarica Bay near Petrovac with its wide areas of reed and lastly the Bojana Delta with the sandy beach “Velika Plaza” and the salt-mine Ulcinj.
EuroNatur reports that on the beaches of Buljarica (Budva) and Velika Plaza (Ulcinj) alone several thousands of migratory birds were fired at from 12 to 15 March 2009. Amongst them, there were also protected species: for example, in the film you see a newly dead Spotted Crake in the salt-mine Tivat, shot Garganeys and Grey Herons caught in a hunting-stand in the Buljarica Bay. The hunters used illegal baits: the film shows plastic (bait) ducks and loudspeakers in the Buljarica Bay, poachers from Montenegro and Italian hunting tourists using illegal baits on the Velika Plaza. Two hunters with plastic (bait) ducks left the salt-mine Ulcinj when the ornithologists appeared. In none of these areas hunting was permitted and the shoot took place outside the hunting season.
In August 2008, the Parliament of Montenegro passed a hunting bill, which is an important step in the fight against bird hunting on the Balkans: the list of species to hunt corresponds to international standards now. Some species, amongst them the Garganey, have been taken off the list and are now officially banned from hunting. The March hunting season has been eliminated and the littoral (morsko dobro) is now excluded from hunting. Thus, the long lasting demands of EuroNatur finally translated into legal implementation. The video, however, shows a different reality.
EuroNatur strongly requests of the Government of Montenegro to ensure that the existing hunting laws are obeyed!
The video “Duck Hunting near Carska Bara” was recorded in a Ramsar territory in Serbia. It shows strikingly that the protection of species and hunting laws are totally ignored during bird hunting in Serbia. More than half of the birds shown in this clip published on youtube are officially banned from being hunted. This shows that the hunters obviously feel totally safe from legal prosecution.
The video targets Italian hunting tourists. Among the 21 birds, which were determined by EuroNatur in the film, there are 11 Ferruginous Ducks, which are also legally protected in Serbia. The (at least) 11 illegally shot Ferruginous Ducks can be seen in second 42 of the video. In the front, on the right-hand side there is a squab duck which was not yet able to fly. This clearly shows that the hunting activities on the 2nd of September took place during the most sensitive time of the breeding season of the Ferruginous Duck. Not only single animals of this worldwide endangered species are killed in this hunting but also females carrying offspring and squabs. Squabs which do not get shot ruefully die after the loss of their parents.
But the Ferruginous Duck is not the only hunting victim. In second 17 one can see a protected Gadwall in a boat. Only 2 Common Pochards and 3 Mallards (22nd second) as well as the Common Teal in the left hand of the hunter are allowed to be legally hunted (17th second).
The film closes with the words Dobar Pogled (“Good Luck”). However, if laws for hunting and species protection keep getting ignored the luck for the Ferruginous Ducks is bad.
EuroNatur strongly requests: