Hunting season threatens teals
WITH the start of the water bird hunting season in the south Alicante wetlands just three weeks away, ecologists have again called on the regional government to prevent the population of marbled teals in El Hondo natural park from being decimated.
An AHSA spokesman noted that GPS devices put on some of the marbled teals that were released in the wild last year, as part of a regional government programme to boost the population, proved that hunting plays a significant role in the decline and disappearance of this protected species in this area.
Several of these birds were shot dead in game reserves in El Hondo, corroborating complaints that researchers and ecologists have been making for years.
Researchers from Miguel Hernández university ( UMH) established that 25% of the marbled teals with GPS devices had been killed last winter.
They published this in a renowned
national environmental magazine – and recommended that hunting should not be allowed before sunrise or after sunset, the start of the season should be put back to give time for the marbled teals to begin their migration or dispersion, and inspections of hunting activity should be increased.
These recommendations were praised by the regional wildlife service in a report for the marbled teal work group in December 2019, but not acted on. As well as calling for these measures to be implemented urgently, AHSA members are asking the authorities to comply with measures proposed by the El Hondo management committee in November 2019.
These said that the number of birds authorised to be hunted should be reduced and hunting should be stopped in Lo Vaquero reserve because it is not legally recognised.
The ecologists said they are disappointed at the lack of action by the regional government.