The truth and the reality of the pathetic hunting situation, and right here, on our own doorstep.
It is almost two months since the lifting the rabbit ban in Andalucía (08/09/2020) and with the half-season closed a week ago (20/09/2020), the images below will alone say a lot and tell you a lot about the region’s hunters.
The first photograph is taken in a private hunting ground in the Medina Sidonia area, where no rabbits have been hunted to date. The second is of an Eagle Owl shot dead and casually thrown away after being hidden inside a sack, the third image shows a Marsh Harrier also shot, both sequences have taken place in different private hunting grounds within the municipalities of Vejer de la Frontera and Conil de la Frontera.
Therefore, in the vast majority of these reserves, where hunting has been carried out since the opening of the closure, not a single rabbit remains and what really occurs, in the vast majority of cases, is shown in the second and third images. Digest these illustrations as an undeniable truth of the hunter’s criminal activity.
Perhaps, since there is no game to shoot at, they prefer to amuse themselves by shooting raptors! Unfortunately it is a sad reality and reflection on the mentality of these mindless hunters. La Janda region, Cádiz.
If there are no rabbits, then kill owls, harriers, or whatever happens to pass in front of the gun!
Black September. After our article on a Bonelli’s Eagle having been shot earlier this month (see here), coupled with this latest news, it is understandable that we feel utter contempt for the hunters of our region. These are the very people who profess to love the countryside and yet destroy the very essence of their professed love. We must all remember, these criminal acts are destroying what is ‘all our’ natural heritage, nature is our right to enjoy and observe, not for a mindless minority to destroy.
Footnote: When will there be an investigation into these latest criminal acts perpetrated by hunters? Does privilege and vested interests shield these criminals from justice? We shall see.
Article: Peter Jones (translated from and added to an original post by Rafael Sánchez Carrión).
Photos: Rafael Sánchez Carrión
Note: The views expressed in articles are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of the Society.