Nature and pro-animal organizations have been seeking a ban on hunting all or almost all bird species for years. The Ministry of Climate and Environment partially responds to these demands – those that are endangered or whose population is declining are to be removed from the list of game species, i.e. those that can be hunted.
Deputy Minister Mikołaj Dorożała announced the planned change to the regulation. “Seven species of birds will disappear from the hunting list. We have a ready regulation – after consultations, it will be signed. Due to the declining population of many bird species, there is no justification for hunting them,” he wrote. In response to our questions, the minister specified that these species are: hazel grouse, mallard, teal, common marmot, tufted duck, woodcock and coot.
Naturalists have the entire argument list against bird hunting – from injuring and killing protected animals during hunting of game species, to environmental pollution with lead ammunition. The Long Live! Coalition, consisting of several dozen non-governmental organizations, consists of several dozen non-governmental organizations. he also argues that both possible agricultural damage and the consumption of meat from killed birds are marginal phenomena.
According to survey for the Long Live Coalition! 62 percent of Poles support a complete ban on hunting birds, and over 90 percent support the end of hunting endangered species.
No benefits from bird hunting
In August, when the bird hunting season began, 70 conservation organizations and initiatives appealed to government to remove 12 out of 13 bird species from the list of game species. Previously, some organizations called for a complete ban – a moratorium on bird hunting.
If the regulation announced by Dorozała comes into force, more than half of the species will disappear from the list. You will also be able to hunt wood pigeons, pheasants, partridges and three species of geese.
Why should these be removed from the list? In response to our questions, Dorożała informs that they were selected based on the recommendations of experts from the ministry, the General Directorate for Environmental Protection and the State Council for Nature Protection. The deputy minister stated that “social benefits obtained from hunting” for these bird species “are not adequate to the potential risks and losses, which are the responsibility of public authorities to take into account.”
– Pursuant to art. 1 of the Hunting Law Act, hunting is to be an element of the protection of the natural environment. Preserving these bird species as game species does not contribute to the protection of the natural environment, while removing them from the list may contribute to increasing biodiversity and protecting the natural environment.
– said Dorożała.
Killing protected birds
The draft regulation will now be submitted for consultation. Among others, the Ministry is expected to present its opinion Agriculture and Polish Hunting Association. However, Dorożała noted, these opinions are not binding and the deputy minister does not assume that the list of species excluded from hunting will change.
– The regulation should be signed by the end of the year – declared Dorożała.
We also asked the deputy minister about what the ministry is doing to actually protect birds covered by the hunting ban. This season, there have already been cases of hunters killing protected birds. At the very beginning of the hunting season, in August, a hunter boasted of “the first crested dogs in his life”. However, as naturalists pointed out, the photo also included dead pigeons – a protected species.
Later Robert Jurszo from “Gazeta Wyborcza” revealed that Italian hunters – who willingly come to hunt in Poland – later boast on social media about piles of killed birds, including those that are not allowed to be hunted.
– After the latest reports, we asked for the PZŁ's position on the explanation of specific events. Due to documented cases of hunting of protected species, we will submit a report to the prosecutor's office, announced Deputy Minister Dorożała.
Hunting reform
The Ministry of Climate and Environment is working on hunting reform. A special team has been established to listen to experts and various parties – from animal rights organizations to hunters. Works they concern, among others, bird hunting.
In August, representatives of the Polish Hunting Association interrupted the talks and left the team meeting. Prof. Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz, an expert of the Supreme Hunting Council, said that on the other side of the table there were not experts but “activists”, and the ministry itself “had nothing intelligent to say”. – If they don't want to listen to us, why should we sit there – he said.
– The team will continue the proceedings. The invitation to the PZŁ management board is valid – declared Deputy Minister Dorożała. He added that he is receiving signals from other hunters who declare their willingness to participate in the talks and “he will consider it.” – If we have hunters willing to cooperate in the field today, I invite you. And if the PZŁ management board cannot open up to reforms, that is the management's problem, he said.