RSPB call to curb seabird slaughter

Home

Since 2000, Sea Shepherd has maintained a strong, positive presence in the Galapagos Islands. From patroling the Marine Reserve stopping illegal fishing activities, to busting shark finners, to educating the local youth, Sea Shepherd carries out its mission of promoting ocean conservation using a wide range of methods and actions.The Galapagos is our line in the sand. If humanity cannot protect such a unique and diverse ecosystem, we will not be able to protect any ecosystem. The Galapagos is a challenge and battlefield for the effort to halt human greed and destruction. These Enchanted Isles are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and this means all of us have a responsibility to help protect them from illegal exploitation.

http://www.oceansentry.org/lang-en/menu-articles/2227-campaign-for-sharks.html

http://www.oceansentry.org/lang-en/menu-articles/2205-sobrepesca-muerte-de-los-oceanos.html

http://www.oceansentry.org/lang-en/menu-articles/2350-the-end-of-the-line-world-without-fish.html

http://oceansentry.org/lang-en/menu-articles/1509-secret-dolphin-slaughter.html

/lang-en/menu-articles/menu-featured-content/1858.html

RSPB call to curb seabird slaughter

Sunday, 26 April 2009 18:41

< Prev		Next >

Credits: Wikipedia The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has called on Greenland to stop hunters slaughtering seabirds after research linked the destruction with declining populations across Europe. Every summer the country’s thousands of hunters attack the roosting colonies of seabirds such as kittiwakes, eider ducks and guillemots, often shooting them with semi-automatic weapons and taking their eggs.

With the 2009 season approaching, the RSPB has called on the Greenland government to impose restrictions. It warns that, since many of the targeted species aremigratory, the destruction will have an impact on populations of birds in many other countries around the North Atlantic, including Britain.

The fate of the Greenland seabird colonies is emerging as one of the world’s greatest but least-known wildlife scandals.

The problem centres on Greenland’s long hunting tradition. Only about 2,000 of the 56,000-strong population hunt for food or to sell meat, but about 10,000 others hunt just for sport, often pursuing whales, polar bears and seals as well as seabirds.

Among those calling for hunting restrictions is Graham Wynne, chief executive of the RSPB. He said: “Eider ducks have declined by 80% in 40 years and the 150,000 Brünnich’s guillemots, seen at a breeding colony in Uummannaq, northern Greenland 60 years ago, have completely gone.”

“The record of seabird protection in Greenland is a story of the destruction of nature through an unwillingness to manage hunting, resulting in seriously damaged populations of many seabird species.”

(From timesonline.co.uk, by Jonathan Leake)