Illegal hunting in Lebanon (1 Viewer)

skylark25 · May 31, 2011

Hi all,

I couldn't help but bring to you the disgusting situation that currently takes place in Lebanon on a dialy basis.

The photos below speak for themselves...all uploaded on Facebook!!:C

The irony is that these phots weren't uploaded by environmentalists or conservationists to highlight the problem but by the killers themselves. That certainly highlights that this is a widespread problem.

No words can describe how I am feeling while I write this. Its disgusting and beyond belief but its true

The ironic part is that any illegality that occurs in my country Malta, finds itself in the media in a matter of hours worldwide yet what goes on in Lebanon goes unnoticed and not given any attention whatsoever. Illegalities are always wrong anywhere but Lebanon, oh dear its just a disaster. By no inch tape can one compare incidents that happen in Malta to that that occurs in Lebanon.

I don't think anything is really being done to stop this barbaric massacre. Not even in the Stoneage did these things occur because guns didn't exist. All our conservation efforts in Europe are going down the drain...millions and millions of euros wasted. Whats the point that we wate our time to conserve our birds here in Europe so then they are shot down like that in Lebanon...every bird imaginable from Blackcaps to Short-toed Eagles...sick:-C

Where is Birdlife International, where is Birdlife Lebanon (if it even exists), where is the Lebanon government and its respective police and authorities???Is there anyone that actually gives a hoot about our biodiversity????:eek!::eek!::eek!:

Its high time that something concrete happens to stop this senseless and barbaric killing. Birds that are all protected in Europe, some of them vulnerable and endangered are being shot at a scale unimaginable!!!

Is there anyone on BF thats ever been to Lebanon or are there any birdwatchers that even exist there?...any info would really be appreciated

Purely disgusting

skylark25 · May 31, 2011

some pics..........

skylark25 · May 31, 2011

they say a photo is worth a thousand words...and how true this is

The saddest thing is that Lebanon looks like a wonderful place to visit and birdwatch. Over my dead body will I ever visit such a country:C:C

Enough said

Xenospiza · May 31, 2011

Sadly, this has been going on in Lebanon for ages... I once read "Birds of the Lebanon", which stated that even the Hoopoe (which is a town bird in Israel) did not breed there because of the hunting pressure.
Other Arab nations (Syria, Gulf States, Kuwait, Egypt) are a "black hole" for birds (how do you think the Bald Ibis disappeared?)

Irish Kite · May 31, 2011

I hear the only time the birds in Lebenon get a break is when skirmishes escalate with Israel - a sign of a very dysfunctional society:-C

upstarts1979 · Jun 1, 2011

Is it a cultural thing, I remember seeing footage of raptors being hunted down in Lebanon with all the perpetrators being Christians ( wearing crosses).
All I can say is arm the Israeli's to the teeth and start another war but only at passage times (a bit tongue in cheek8-P). So when peace prevails the birds suffer, what a sad bunch of uncivilized wasters not worth helping.
:CJohn

lashinala · Jun 1, 2011

As Skylark25 said, don't go there. I have no use for them, they have no use for me.
The shame of it is that the birds apparently aren't even eaten, just shot. Also notice that no one over 40 is in the pictures....interesting.

Gavo · Jun 1, 2011

It's when I see pictures like these that I feel ashamed of our so called "civilized race", these people have very small brains and little hearts, they must be so insecure that the only way they prove their masculinity is by taking up arms and shooting a poor defenceless creature. I sincerely hope that something is done to prevent these attrocities in the future, but I will not be holding my breath.

Educating these people is the only way this will be stopped, you need to start with the child who has the string of birds around his neck, if he can be made to realise what is occuring is morally corrupt then there may be hope for future generations to realise that their actions are sick and incontravertably wrong. It was'nt too long ago that the Victorians did much the same in England until they were shown the error of their ways, I hope the same can be said for the Lebanese.

Gert Corfield · Jun 1, 2011

Gavo said:
It's when I see pictures like these that I feel ashamed of our so called "civilized race", these people have very small brains and little hearts, they must be so insecure that the only way they prove their masculinity is by taking up arms and shooting a poor defenceless creature. I sincerely hope that something is done to prevent these attrocities in the future, but I will not be holding my breath.

Educating these people is the only way this will be stopped, you need to start with the child who has the string of birds around his neck, if he can be made to realise what is occuring is morally corrupt then there may be hope for future generations to realise that their actions are sick and incontravertably wrong. It was'nt too long ago that the Victorians did much the same in England until they were shown the error of their ways, I hope the same can be said for the Lebanese.

A measured reply Gav and completely agree - my response wasn't printable!

upstarts1979 · Jun 1, 2011

Gavo said:
It's when I see pictures like these that I feel ashamed of our so called "civilized race", these people have very small brains and little hearts, they must be so insecure that the only way they prove their masculinity is by taking up arms and shooting a poor defenceless creature. I sincerely hope that something is done to prevent these attrocities in the future, but I will not be holding my breath.

Educating these people is the only way this will be stopped, you need to start with the child who has the string of birds around his neck, if he can be made to realise what is occuring is morally corrupt then there may be hope for future generations to realise that their actions are sick and incontravertably wrong. It was'nt too long ago that the Victorians did much the same in England until they were shown the error of their ways, I hope the same can be said for the Lebanese.

Gav, well said mate.
I suppose we have the trappings of a civilised, materialistic society many aspects of which we deplore but to be fair out there they ain't got much...although saying that they can afford expensive fire power.
Its all about priorities in life and quality of life, we want to preserve and care for nature out there its probably just something to do and no law is going to stop it. Like you say we were doing the same last century with and to a lesser degree it still goes on.
However today with all the other threats to migrating species this behaviour/massacre could tip the balance with some species. If our 'masters' cannot negotiate peace deals between the rival factions what price to stop this carnage, NIL I'm afraid.
That's why its important to preserve and protect what little we have and thus my stance at Upton.
:-CJohn

skylark25 · Jun 1, 2011

Gavo said:
Educating these people is the only way this will be stopped.

Gavo I agree 100% and you couldn't have said it better. Education is the key forward but the shooting of these birds out of ignorance is no excuse. When obtaining a license they are given a leaflet with what they are suppose to shoot at or not. The problem is there are plenty of unlicensed hunters and its very easy to obtain a gun.

Another problem is that they all think they are doing nothing wrong and all that they shoot is totally acceptable.

Defintely education is the key forward. The problem is no one is taking responsibility and enforcement is null. Nothing is being done...one wonders how many more thousands and thousands of birds need to die there before our politicians and people with authority wake up and do something about the senseless killings...:-C

skylark25 · Jun 1, 2011

An interesting article I found on the net:

''A lot of people in Lebanon have a hobby, they like to kill birds. That’s not very weird, a lot of people around the world like to go hunting. The only problem in Lebanon is that Lebanese don’t have a limit. Normal people feel something is weird when they go to picnic in the mountains and sit on a carpet of multicolored empty rifle rounds but in Lebanon people finish eating, take the rifle out of the car and start hunting! When they return home in the evening they complain that they weren’t able to catch a lot of birds this time and that no single bird passed over their heads. I wonder why!

People hunt birds in every country in the world, the only difference is that in normal countries the hunting is controlled, people are only allowed to kill a certain amount of birds from X specie and if they are caught with more birds they face heavy fines and prison.

In Lebanon we have laws but we have no one to apply them, the police never stops anyone, and even if they do they just take the bird and the riffle and set him free. The ministers that are supposed to apply the law can sometime be hunters (Sleiman Frangieh was minister of interior) and the minister of environments are usually given to people for political reasons (That’s were Wi2am Wahab started his bright political career!).

Birds migrate so when we kill birds we are not just killing Lebanese ones we are affecting the earth, something must be done about this! I am not asking them to stop hunting, all what they should do is educate hunters and control them like any normal country in the world does!''

http://www.eliedh.com/index.php/2007/10/15/bird-hunting-in-lebanon

skylark25 · Jun 1, 2011

Take a look at this:

http://www.moe.gov.lb/SiteCollectio...lb/Reports/SOER2002/Chap 10. Biodiversity.pdf

Read pg 13 - 15

This is the part that worries me most:

''Most hunters have no training in, or familiarity with, basic gun safety, game recognition, sportsmanship, or environmental stewardship. Their practices have penalized the minority of hunters who are ecologically minded and given them a bad image. Many hunters trespass on protected areas and on private properties against owners’ wills and have no respect for minimum setback distances (safety, nuisance). They shoot at the smallest, non-game birds, and often begin shooting before sunrise and continue after sunset. Shooting from the car is not uncommon. Although bird raptors (“jawareh”) are protected by international law, many hunters in Lebanon consider them fair game, shooting at migrating Vultures, Eagles, Buzzards, Harriers, Hawks and Falcons. Storks (“laklak”), Pelicans (“bajaa”) and Cranes (“kerke”) are also the target of some shooting, although the pressure on them seems to have subsided in recent years. An increasing number of hunters use illegal tricks and devices to catch birds or lure them within shooting range, such as:

• Sticky rods (limes) to catch small birds;
• Blinds and live decoys to attract and shoot/catch partridges (Chukar) and the Golden
Finch (“hassoun”);
• Recorded tapes played on loudspeakers to attract and shoot songbirds such as Thrushes
(“simmon”), Larks (“kobora”), Buntings (“dartheh”), Finches (“hawajez”) and Quails
(“firreh”);
• High-powered light projectors to attract birds migrating at night such as thrush or to
shoot roosting birds; and
• Mist nets, tranquilizers, and poison.

Hundreds of thousands (about 10 millions) of migratory birds are hunted each year over Lebanon, including small birds such as ortolans, chaffinches, and larks. Many hunters bag up to three or four hundred such birds on a heavy migration day (the concept of bag limits is totally foreign!). For example, on September 16, 2001, tens of thousands of quails were hunted throughout Lebanon, after being lured to the fields by song recordings during their night migration. Many hunters shot 100-200 birds on that day. Protected by the Bonn convention, the Ortolan Bunting is the subject of a tug of war between Lebanese conservationists, who want to protect''

rollingthunder · Jun 2, 2011

The Med and Middle East is full of inadequate men with guns as a penis extension and they bring up the next generation to do the same - their women are'nt treated much better - Malta has only just voted to be able to divorce - what chance migrating birds, Kuwait has people shooting right outside the few reserves that they have - i wonder if these people would be as willing to use their guns if a new Saddam invaded? Cyprus kills and traps an estimated 2 and a half million songbirds for an illegal restaurant trade each year most of it taking place on Crown lands - i just do not visit the places and send shitloads of emails to embassies almost on a daily basis.....................

barty63 · Jun 20, 2011

I was just about to look at a long weekend in Lebanon to get away from the dust of Dubai when I came across this thread. Absolutely depressing. I know this stuff went on but I did not realise to what scale. No way I am going there, looking at pictures of this Cold Blooded massacre is bad enough I certainly don't want to witness it live. What is the fascination with this wanton destruction ? Whether it be East or West ? I hope that as much misery befalls these people in their lives as they inflict on these poor defenceless creatures. All hunting should be banned , there are no exceptions, no reason why any bird or animal should be hunted down purely for self-gratification.

NicoleB · Jun 24, 2011

rollingthunder said:
Kuwait has people shooting right outside the few reserves that they have - i wonder if these people would be as willing to use their guns if a new Saddam invaded?

I bet anything I have on the answer. Mine will be 'No'.

skylark25 · Aug 20, 2011

With migration in the Middle East picking up, the killing goes on and gains momentum

Attached more disgusting photos all uploaded in the past week..........

the hunting season has 'officially' opened, bag limits dont exist and practically all types of birds are shot...all species that are protected in Europe...I really don't get it why this is happening

......and the Media and authorities turn their back and remain SILENT

It seems plenty of birds won't be getting to their wintering grounds this winter:C:C:C:C

skylark25 · Aug 20, 2011

more pics...

sorry guys for sharing...but its reality and I thought you should all know whats happening :-C:-C

birdboybowley · Aug 20, 2011

Sickening....

Jos Stratford · Aug 20, 2011

rollingthunder said:
The Med and Middle East is full of inadequate men with guns as a penis extension and they bring up the next generation to do the same - their women are'nt treated much better

..... i wonder if these people would be as willing to use their guns if a new Saddam invaded?

Though the annual slaughter of birds is sickening, needs to be highlighted and it would be desirable if pressure could be brought to begin a change in these countries, the comments above merely represent a ignorance of the countries concerned, are offensive and, moreover, the one-liners about women and Saddam have absolutely nothing to do with the issue of bird hunting.

rollingthunder said:
i just do not visit the places and send shitloads of emails to embassies almost on a daily basis.....................

Hope you apply your same standards to countries beyond those included in your blanket prejudice - try this one for starters - don't see a lot of difference in the mentality of these folks and those in the countries you refer to.

Illegal hunting in Lebanon (1 Viewer)

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