Up to now Slovenia’s laws on hunting had an exemplary character, with only six bird species to be hunted legally. But this role model position is now at stake. The Slovenian hunting lobby is pushing the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment to extend the list of birds that may be hunted by another seven species: Common Snipe, Teal, Wood Pigeon, Woodcock, Coot, Black Grouse, and Great Cormorant.
Under the Birds Directive, these species do not enjoy special protection and are listed as huntable species in the annexes II A and II B. But if the Slovenian authorities accepted this amendment and weakened their laws to the birds’ disadvantage, this would be a disastrous signal. The breeding populations of some of these species are at the brink of extinction in other European countries, like the Common Snipe in Germany. Weakening the laws in Slovenia, one of the species’ resting sites on the migration routes between summer and winter habitats, would cause further damage to the viability of populations in other countries. EuroNatur’s partner organization DOPPS (Slovenian Bird Conservation Society) is intensively lobbying to avert this amendment and submitted its official statement to the responsible ministry last week.
Read more on EuroNatur’s projects against bird hunting
