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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dale Forbes" data-source="post: 1390122" data-attributes="member: 65117">As at 20 Jan 09, 86 buzzards and 2 goshawks had been shot (according to numbers registered with the hunting association).As far as I can tell, the decree is unlikely to be revoked: the hunting lobby is very strong, and a report by the "Research Institute for Wildlife Science and Ecology" at the Vienna Veterinary University (Forschungsinstitut für Wildtierkunde und Ökologie Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien Institutsleiter: Univ. Prof. Dr. Walter Arnold) suggests that 247 Buzzards and 45 Goshawks can be shot every year (a number they calculate as being 1% of the yearly average mortality) to help protect a list of 26 species that have some level of conservation concern (even if the predators mentioned do not in any way threaten the other species mentioned).Justifying the shoot by the first criteria makes sense if it fulfills the requirements of European Law (the 1% of mortality thing). Passing the shooting off under the guise of a conservation and research effort just reeks of pseudoscience and dishonesty. p.s. I put the links to the original legal documents on my blog</blockquote>