Villagers killing off too many migratory birds
By Li Qian |
November 9, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
VILLAGERS in Hunan Province have come under fire for the extreme hunting methods they are using to decimate the population of migratory birds, Xinmin Weekly reported on Wednesday.
The hunting is illegal and even some government officials have been exposed to be taking part in it.
Hunters make trammel nets with nylon wire as thin as hair and hide them near ponds or under reed marshes, and then play tapes with birds singing to lure the birds, Yao Yi, an official with a natural preservation park, told the magazine.
A villager can net hundreds of migratory birds in a single day in spring and autumn, he said.
Bigger birds are poisoned. For instance, villagers scatter toxic pills that look like food pellets in tidal-flats where wild geese like to rest.
Yao said these methods are difficult to detect and help the villagers catch many birds.
Though killing wild birds was banned in 1989, urban residents and government officials still enjoy shooting birds as a hobby, said Yao's colleague Zhang Houyi.
"Some people who dress like police told me they just killed several birds to treat senior officials," Zhang, 72, was cited as saying. "It's really difficult for me to stop them."
Zhang's father was a famous bird hunter in the Dongting Lake region. Decades ago, hunting birds was encouraged by the government and villagers could hand over the feathers to factories to make fans and quilts, Zhang said.
"At that time, the lesser white-fronted goose was worth only several cents as there were so many, but only 50,000 exist worldwide now," Zhang told the magazine.
Hunan is at the epicenter of a battle to crack down on the illegal hunting of migratory birds.
Rising demand in cities has lured an increasing number of bird purchasers and professional hunters to the area.
The carcasses are then sold locally or to other cities, especially in Guangdong.
The hunting is illegal and even some government officials have been exposed to be taking part in it.
Hunters make trammel nets with nylon wire as thin as hair and hide them near ponds or under reed marshes, and then play tapes with birds singing to lure the birds, Yao Yi, an official with a natural preservation park, told the magazine.
A villager can net hundreds of migratory birds in a single day in spring and autumn, he said.
Bigger birds are poisoned. For instance, villagers scatter toxic pills that look like food pellets in tidal-flats where wild geese like to rest.
Yao said these methods are difficult to detect and help the villagers catch many birds.
Though killing wild birds was banned in 1989, urban residents and government officials still enjoy shooting birds as a hobby, said Yao's colleague Zhang Houyi.
"Some people who dress like police told me they just killed several birds to treat senior officials," Zhang, 72, was cited as saying. "It's really difficult for me to stop them."
Zhang's father was a famous bird hunter in the Dongting Lake region. Decades ago, hunting birds was encouraged by the government and villagers could hand over the feathers to factories to make fans and quilts, Zhang said.
"At that time, the lesser white-fronted goose was worth only several cents as there were so many, but only 50,000 exist worldwide now," Zhang told the magazine.
Hunan is at the epicenter of a battle to crack down on the illegal hunting of migratory birds.
Rising demand in cities has lured an increasing number of bird purchasers and professional hunters to the area.
The carcasses are then sold locally or to other cities, especially in Guangdong.
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