The annual Fall Hunting Classic, a series of hunting-related seminars, workshops and activities, begins this Friday at Bass Pro Shops.

The Rancho Cucamonga store is expecting more than 100,000 visitors over the course of the 17-day event, which concludes Sunday, Aug. 22.

"The Bass Pro Shops Fall Classic is a huge event and hunters and other outdoor sportsmen and women look forward to it all year long," said Bass Pro Shops spokeswoman Katie Mitchell. "Outdoor enthusiasts will be able to learn the secret techniques and strategies used by professionals to gain a better advantage in the field, see all the latest products and attend workshops and seminars."

Events planned include seminars and workshops hosted by industry pros, contests, binocular trade-ins, ATV test drives and myriad activities for children.

"I’ve heard it said that if you don’t have a fishing rod in the hands of a youngster by the time they are 8 years old, the chances of getting them to go fishing later in life diminishes dramatically," added Mitchell. "I would think the same applies to getting them introduced to hunting and shooting sports."

A complete schedule is available on the store website.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outpo ... assic-bass-pro-shops.html

Sad moments were relived last Saturday as relations of people devoured by killer crocodile in Sheeta community, Niger State recounted how their loved ones fell prey to the monster.

In what was an of emotional excursion into the tragic past, children and relations of the victims submitted that nothing could be more painful than watching their loved ones devoured by a crocodile.

They are not only sad that they lost their breadwinners in agonising circumstances, they are also sad that the remains of the deceased persons could not be retrieved for a befitting burial because they had ended up in the bowels of the ravenous reptile.

The crocodile, laid siege to the community for years and killed more than six people before it was captured by a local fisherman named Benjamin Abu about 14 days ago. But no sooner had the news of the captured crocodile filtered to the village than many of the residents besieged the bank of the river with cudgels and, against the pleas of its captor, hit the crocodile, forcing Abu to slaughter it.

The crocodile may be dead, but the wound it inflicted on the community is yet to heal. Some of the residents who spoke to our correspondent on Saturday were angry that the reptile that humiliated the community for years was accorded the honour of being taken to Government House in Minna, the state capital. They said that the reptile should have been left at the mercy of the community so that they could kill it in instalments and thereafter poured petrol on it and set it ablaze.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, one of the residents, 29-year-old Adebayo Adamu, recalled how he lost his elder brother, Ochowache Adamu, to the crocodile in October, 2007.

Ogbomosho, Oyo Sate-born Adebayo, who used to work with his late brother in his fishing business, recalled that Ochowache was the first of the five children of 72-year-old father, Pa Adamu Abu, and was 44 years old at the time he was devoured by the reptile. He said the victim left a wife and four children behind.

Amid tears, Adebayo recalled that he went with his late brother on a fishing expedition to the river. But while he remained in the canoe on his brother’s instruction, he watched in agony as the crocodile grabbed his brother from behind while he was trying to pull his net out of water.

He said, “As my brother began to scream for help, I rushed to inform people about the development. They hurriedly gathered at the bank of the river but nobody could do anything. We all watched helplessly, crying and yelling as the crocodile fed on my elder brother. It was a sad moment; a scene I will never forget.

“This was somebody who brought me up. I was very close to him because of the five children our parents had, only two of us are males. Since he died, the task of taking care of his children has become mine.”

Adebayo said that after the incident, his father sent for him, the children of the deceased and his wife and asked them to relocate to Benue State. But he said he had to return to Sheeta barely a year after, because he had no other profession than fishing.

Two Fulani herdsmen, Alhaji Abdullahi Shadari and Usman Saleh, who hail from Jankaza village in Munya Local Government, Niger State, also recalled the loss of their mentor, Mallam Musa Usman, to the crocodile. While Shadari is the son to the late Musa, Saleh is his nephew.

It was as if the incident had just happened as Shadari wept uncontrollably while recalling the circumstances in which his his 64-year-old father was killed by the deadly reptile.

He said, “It was around 2pm on a Friday. We were together on this unfortunate day. I was with my own cattle while he was with his. In his usual manner, when we got to the riverside, we looked for where the water was at a low level to cross with the cattle. After his cattle had crossed to the other side, he stepped into the river. But he had hardly put his second leg into the river when he slipped. I stood there at the bank of the river, wondering what could have happened. Suddenly, I saw the crocodile wriggle its tail around him and lifted him up about three times. That was all.

“I screamed to attract my younger ones who were around. The villagers too came but there was nothing anybody could do. Nothing could be more painful than losing one’s loved one in such a gory circumstance.”

36-year-old Shadari, who has two wives and seven children, said the family had lost two cows to the crocodile before the unfortunate incident. He said that after his father’s death, he decided to abandon the river. But he added that he felt happy when the news that the crocodile had been captured by Benjamin got to him. He, however, regretted that he was not around on the said day to take his own pound of flesh from the animal.

35-years-old Usman Saleh also corroborated Shadari’s claims as he lamented the death of his uncle, which he said was an irreplaceable loss to the community and the family. He appealed to the state government to assist Abu in capturing the female counterpart of the deadly reptile believed to be in the river.

37-years-old Sabo Damidami also said he lost a cow and a ram to the crocodile in 2008.

While the Governor of Niger State, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, charged Abu to help the Sheeta community to capture the female crocodile, the fisherman said it could be a difficult thing to do because some of the items that could help him in the task had been destroyed while he was trying to capture the male crocodile.

‘I saw my brother in the mouth of the crocodile’

29-year-old Adebayo Adamu recalls the circumstances in which his elder brother was consumed by crocodile during a fishing expedition in this interview with FRANCIS FALOLA.

When did you lose your brother and how?

I lost my brother in October 2007. I was with him when the unfortunate incident occurred. He was the one who brought me up and we always went on fishing expedition together. At that time, a big tree had fallen into the river and this attracted birds, some of which built their nests in its branches. As the birds’ excretion attracted fishes to the spot.

The spot became one where one could catch big fish. So, I was in the canoe with my elder brother. But as we moved towards the spot, he asked me to wait in the canoe so that he would check the net he had placed there overnight. He stood on the tree, and and he attempted to pull the net out, I heard him scream as he fell into the river. Initially, I thought, it was the shock of falling that made him to scream. I was so confident that he would come out, because he was a good swimmer. But as I watched closely, I saw him in the mouth of the crocodile, and the water around him was stained with blood. I rushed to the village to alert the people and we all rushed to the bank of the river. But there was nothing anybody could do. Nobody could move near the crocodile. We also could not retrieve his remains.

What was the reaction of your parents to the incident?

Our father, Pa Adamu Abu, who was about 72 years old when the incident happened, directed that we should all relocate to our village in Obagaji in Benue State. So, I had to move my brother’s wife and four children back to the village. I was with them for close to a year. But I found life difficult in the village because the only work I know is fishing. I cannot engage in farming, which most people in our village do. I had to take the risk of relocating to Sheeta where I continued with fishing.

Do you not fear that the fate that befell you brother could also befall you?

I do. But what can I do? My brother’s death has foisted many responsibilities on me. I have to fend for his family as well as mine. And there was nothing I could do in the village except farming, which I am not used to. I had to take the risk with some precaution. Life has been so difficult for us.

How did you feel when the killer crocodile was captured?

I was very happy. Immediately the news got to me, I rushed to the place to behold the wicked crocodile. I could not help joining other victims to hit the crocodile with whatever I was able to lay my hands on. The crocodile has ruined us.

I feel sad when I see the tombs of other people’s fathers – 36-year-old man whose father was devoured by a crocodile

I feel sad that I can’t point to my father’s tomb – 36-year-old man whose father was devoured by a crocodile

How old was your father when he was killed by a crocodile?

He was about 66 years old.

How did it happen?

It was happened around 2pm on a Friday. On the ill-fated day, we were rearing our different cattle together. The usual practice was that we would look for where the water level is low so that we could easily take the cows across. So we found one of such spots and my father waited for all his cattle to cross to the other side before he followed. So as soon as all the cattle crossed, my father stepped into the river. Suddenly, the crocodile emerged from nowhere and wriggled is tail around my father. It lifted him up about three times before it disappeared with him. I screamed and my shout attracted two of my younger ones who were around and they rushed to the scene. We couldn’t do anything as we only stayed at the bank of the river and wept.

What has this incident taught you about life?

With this incident, I see death through crocodile as the most painful. This is the most painful thing that could happen to anyone. It is more saddening that such corpse cannot be traced or retrieved for a befitting burial as the victim ends up in the bowel of the animal. I always feel sad when I see the tombs of other people’s parents but cannot point at my father’s.

Do you relocate from the area after this incident?

After the incident, I had to plead with my younger ones and my cousin who was there with us when it happened that we should stop coming to the area. Since then, we stopped taking our cattle to the river.

What was your reaction when you heard that the crocodile that killed your father had been captured?

I was very happy. In fact, I was the happiest man on that day. Though I was not there when it was caught, I regretted not being around to see the crocodile myself before it was taken away. I would have been the one to deal the greatest blow on it in vengeance for my father.

What do you think has made people to remain at the place in spite of the danger poised by the crocodile?

I am from Jankaza village in this same Munya Local Government Area, Niger State. I think people found it difficult to stop going to the river, because it remains their only source of water.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20091226138214

ou may call Army Reserve 1st Sgt. Ken Liston jager — he has a jagdschein.

The collar on Daisy, Liston's chocolate Lab, declares: "Mein Hund ist meine Waffe" — my dog is my weapon.

"Waidmansheil!"— good hunting — is how Liston greets fellow hunters at the door of his home in Helena.

But instead of donning dress woolens and leather to hunt boar or red deer in Germany, this Sunday Liston will be after elk or bear or deer right here in Montana, not far from his Helena home.

Sunday is opening day of Montana's general deer and elk season in Montana, and Liston will be among the 200,000 or so Montanans licensed to hunt elk and deer.

While Liston has tags for deer, two elk and a bear — he gets them free because he is active military — he is mighty proud of the jagdschein issued to him in Germany.

Liston's jagdschein looks more like a passport than any hunting license most Montanans have seen, and it is proof he successfully completed the 10-week German hunting education program that anyone must pass in order to hunt or carry firearms.

Besides the technical and educational aspects of the German hunting license course of study, Liston said it enhanced his fascination with the tradition of hunting in Germany — one that dates back to the rule of Charlemagne, the emperor of western Europe in the 8th Century.

"It is a major achievement to get that license. He should be proud of that," said Thomas Baumeister, education bureau chief for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. "It is an accomplishment. You have to renew it every year, but you are entitled to be a hunter for the rest of your life.

"It very much becomes an identity. I met Ken and he was wearing a green European sweater. That is the attire," Baumeister added.

Baumeister also holds a jagdschein. He was born and raised in Germany, and his father has held a hunting lease for decades.

Liston grew up in Great Falls, and his great-grandfather emigrated to the U.S. from Germany. Liston has kept in touch with his German relatives and has visited them in the Schwarzwald, or the Black Forest, village where they live.

After three deployments and a mobilization to Iraq, he did a tour of duty in Germany at a U.S. Army hospital. He was the liaison between the hospital and U.S. military members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While there, he completed the German hunter course.

"To possess firearms you must have a reason, such as hunting, shooting or becoming a member of the German police," Liston said.

The first chapter of the four-chapter hunter education course in Germany deals with the background of hunting customs, background of hunting law, wildlife management, hunter safety, guns and hunting equipment, dogs, game and game diseases.

The 10-week class meets three times each week for three hours each evening. That's 90 hours of intensive instruction and testing.

"On the weekends, you are expected to be at the shooting range practicing or (to) study animals," Liston said.

Besides a 25-question multiple choice test, each hunter candidate must pass several other tests, including an oral interview in which the test master hands the candidate a number of firearms and asks the candidate to identify them, explain them and their use, and determine whether they are legal in Germany.

Candidates also must pass rifle and pistol shooting tests, shoot trap and skeet, and shoot running rabbits and running boar.

"When I took the course — it has been years ago — but the success rate was 50 percent," Baumeister said.

"All hunting is done by invitation," Liston said of Germany. "And you would not show up in jeans. You would be expected to dress for the hunt."

Germany has red deer, roe deer, Russian wild boar, fallow deer, European hare, pheasants and mallards.

The leases are expensive and give rights to high or low game. High game would include the red deer and boars. Low game might include the roe deer and hare. So, a piece of land might be subject to two leases each of which is managed by a jagermeister.

The lease holder may let other people take animal trophies, but the meat must go to the leaseholder, who can then sell it to a German market.

The lease is hunted according to a management plan arrived at by the waldmeister, or forest manager, the landowner and the leaseholder. If the leaseholder does not kill the required number of animals under the management plan, he must pay the landowner.

A single lease might cover parts of several farms or estates.

Hunters also must abide by the management plan, which includes killing poaching animals such as domestic cats or dogs that roam free. Those animals can have a serious impact on the game animal population.

Liston said hunters are highly respected in Germany, and hunters there respect their quarry.

After killing an animal, the hunter must perform a ceremony: he lays the animal on its right side, gives the animal its last bite of food and claims the animal. Each gesture involves using the tips of trees or brush in the area.

Liston attended the St. Hubertus Mass, which celebrates the patron saint of hunters. The Mass occurs every Nov. 3. During the Mass, the jager drinks Jagermeister at dusk, and is knighted into the service of St. Hubertus.

Baumeister said that in Germany, "the hunter has a very high status. I tell the story of my experience growing up.

"On Saturdays, Germans go to the brew pub. What we have is a big oak table where the seating is reserved.

"Who you have seated there are the mayor, the minister, influential business people and the hunter. The minister might talk to the hunter and say, 'how are the deer?' and the hunter is expected to give an account.

"They want to hear that. If things are wrong, they want to hear of it."

Baumeister said hunting leases are given out on a competitive basis, but they rarely go to the highest bidder.

"More often than not, they go to people that the community feels most comfortable having in there," he said.

So, does Liston find hunting in Montana or Germany to be more fun?

"Yes," he answers with a laugh before explaining that each location has its joys and differences.

"They are totally different. In Germany, you have to accept the rules and customs without reservation," Liston said.

For example, he explained, if you are invited to a hunt, you are expected to attend the celebration afterward, which will include numerous toasts.

"There is lots of singing and lots of celebrating," Baumeister said. "It is very, very social, and very community oriented."

But Liston said, "Woe to the hunter who fails to book a room at a nearby lodge. German police are death on drunken driving, possession of firearms and improper storage of firearms."

Hunting in Germany is far less focused on harvest than in Montana, Baumeister said.

"In a few days here in Montana, people will be asking, 'did you get your elk?' We boil it down to answering that question or showing a picture of a dead animal," he said.

Liston said completing the German hunter education program extended his knowledge and the hunting ethics he already possessed.

He said he is not out to change the way Montana educates its hunters, but perhaps, the state could enhance the ethics portion of the program here.

He added he hates trail cameras — remote cameras that hunters place so that they can see what game frequents the area.

The cameras are illegal during hunting season but are not unlawful the rest of the year.

"I cheerfully shoot any one I see, and you can tell your readers that," he said.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20091022/NEWS01/910220301

Reach Babcock at triboutdoors@geatfallstribune.com or 791-1487.

A CRIME reporting initiative that focuses on illegal hunting was launched Statewide last week by Game Council NSW, with Glenbog State forest near Nimmitabel being amongst the areas targeted.

Bush Alert - a community-based reporting system trialled in Orange area - aims to catch illegal hunters on declared public land and on adjoining private properties.

“This initiative is going statewide in a number of forests with a long history of illegal hunting. Essentially, we’re targeting the illegal hunting hot-spots,” Game Council Chief Executive Officer, Brian Boyle said.

The Game Council licenses and regulates voluntary conservation hunting on 460 declared State forests covering more than two million hectares of available land.

The forests covered in the scheme include:

Glenbog State forest near Nimmitabel on the South Coast; Ingebirah State forest near Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains; and Maragle State forest near Tumbarumba in the Snowy Mountains, amongst several others further from our local area.

An 18-month trial of the scheme at Canobolas and Mullions Range State forests near Orange has seen a reduction in the reports of illegal hunting incidents in these forests.

“The program, which has been developed in conjunction with the NSW Police Force and Forests NSW, encourages country people to provide specific intelligence to police of offences such as spotlighting on public land and trespassing,” Mr Boyle said.

This includes warning signs for farm gates and forest entry points, reporting cards for forest-users, and stickers with relevant details for contacting NSW Police, Crime Stoppers, and the Game Council.

“The stickers and reporting cards will make it easier for country people to provide the specific ‘who, what and where’ information that police require to detect and prosecute illegal hunters,” Mr Boyle said.

Heavy penalties and fines of up to $5,500 now apply for offences including trespassing and hunting without a game licence.

To date, licensed hunters have removed more than 25,000 feral animals from State forests since conservation hunting commenced.

“Game Council opposes illegal hunting and, along with the broader community, wants to stop these activities in NSW. Rural residents’ cooperation and participation in this program can greatly assist in reducing illegal hunting in their area,” Mr Boyle said.

http://www.bombalatimes.com.au/news/l ... egal-hunting/1549490.aspx

INDIGENOUS officials have thrown their support behind croc hunters looking for a legal ticket to hunt rogue reptiles.

The Gupulul Marayuwu Aboriginal Corporation and crocodile hunting expert Mick Pitman plan to apply to the Federal Government for a 12-month trial ticket to hunt problem reptiles.

But the Northern Territory based corporation said it would need the Queensland Government to make croc hunting legal before it could operate in the Far North.

The corporation said it would set up a business to capture, kill, skin and stuff the salties.

A spokesman said the proposal would be a jobs generator for Far North Queenslanders as they would hire local rangers and fishermen to navigate the hunt.

Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council Mayor Rodney Accoom welcomed the idea after claiming saltie sightings were spiking.

And Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council chief executive Kevin Wormald said the idea was promising as long as it generated employment and resources.

"If part of their proposal is to create indigenous employment, we would certainly be interested," he said.

At present, the Environmental Protection Agency and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services kill or sell problem crocs to farms that breed and sell the offspring’s skin to European buyers.

Melaleuca Crocodile Farm manager Peter Fisher said crocs were more profitable alive with female crocs laying an average of 50 eggs a year and crocodile-skin handbags starting around $30,000 in Europe.

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/03/27/35255_local-news.html

HOLIDAYMAKERS flocking to Queensland this Christmas break are facing a bigger threat than bluebottle stings and sunburn.
They are for the first time also being officially warned to watch out for crocodiles around Fraser Island and beaches around the Great Sandy Strait.

The Environmental Protection Agency last month erected the warning signs after a 3.4m crocodile was reportedly sighted at Deep Creek on Fraser Island and a 2.5m crocodile was seen at Baffle Creek, about 150km north of Hervey Bay, The Courier-Mail reports.

Long-time Maaroom resident and fisherman Stan Pappin, said he often saw saltwater crocs near his home, which overlooks Maaroom Creek inlet on the strait just south of Maryborough.

"Three months ago there were three crocodiles just here in the creek," he said.

"The small ones were about 12ft (4m) and the large one about 16ft.

An EPA spokesman said public safety was the agency's priority in managing crocodiles.

Warning signs are posted at Deep Creek and Fig Tree Creek, on the western shore of Fraser island, as well as at the barge departure points at Urangan, River Heads and Inskip Point.

"The nearest reported sighting (of a crocodile) has been at Fig Tree Creek on the west coast of Fraser Island," the EPA spokesman said. Information sheets have been distributed to key stakeholders for Fraser Island, asking them to encourage people to exercise caution.

The EPA's official "Croc Watch" tally reports the most recent sighting of a crocodile on the Fraser Coast as being on December 2, on a small island in Kauri Creek on the western side of the Strait.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24846505-5006786,00.html

By Svetlana Ufimtseva, exclusively for Gazeta.kz

Wolf hunting as great excitement in winter Wolf hunting is one of the most popular types of hunting. It has no seasonal limits and considered as traditional Russian hunting. In wintertime, it is especially interesting for hunters as it is a whole strategic process. As soon as snowy season comes the time of the most interesting and effective hunting starts. The hunting for wolves in winter time is held with the help of special red flags.

Wolf is one of the cleverest and the most dangerous predators. However, hunters respect it for its wisdom and firmness. At the same time, the hunting for wolf with flags is quite labor-intensive activity. Sometimes hunters have to walk up to 20 kilometers to find the right place for hunting. For these they need to be able to walk with hunting skis. In fact, hunters should know how to choose skis. For walking hunting in forest, they usually choose skis about 12 centimeters large and equal to the height of the hunter. In case the skis are 10 centimeters large, it is worth choosing the length about 10-15 centimeters higher the hunter. For steppe areas, it is better to choose long and narrow skis. Sometimes hunters divide into several groups to search for the wolves tracks. That is why, it is important to have communication facilities in order not to get lost in a forest.

Wolf hunting has been encouraged in Kazakhstan since the times of USSR, as population of wolves in the country is considered as one of the largest in the world. Wolves significantly damage wild and farm animals. Quite often, farmers have to rescue their herds from wolves' attacks. Mountain travelers often happen to meet wolves, however, there were not registered any cases of wolves attacking people in the country.

Wolf is a big predator, weighting from 30 to 70 kilos. Its length reaches 160 centimeters and height can reach 90 centimeters. Usually wolves walk in troops, that is why wolf hunting is one of the most exciting hunting types. Although wolf hunting is open all the year round, the most effective way of hunting activity is hunting with flags in wintertime. Hunters follow in the tracks of wolves and find the places they tend to stay during the day. After that, several hunters surround this place with a tape with flags. This way wolves are entrapped as they cannot cross the tape with flags. As known, wolves are afraid of red color and the tape with red flags hypnotizes the wolves. Very seldom wolves get through the tape. To create one more barrier, quite often the hunters soak the tape with smells not characterized for the forest. In fact, over the last period of time the hunters stopped using for this purpose petrol or diesel fuel as they stopped frightening wolves off, as they are already used to this smell often brought by hunters to the forests and steppes. Depending on the area and weather, the circle surrounded with flags often reaches 3.5 kilometers. Experienced hunters usually feel how close they can approach the wolves in order not to frighten them off. In case the wolves are very scared they can forget about their fear of red flags and cross them. In fact, wolves never jump over the tape, they try to get through under it diving into the snow.

Like many other animals wolves tend to walk by their roots and paths. Experienced hunters arrive to these places early in the morning to see if the wolves have recently passed these places. This way, the hunters are able to find out from where the wolves arrived and where they followed. During the hunting process, the most experienced hunter during area surrounding with flags defines the places of shooters location. The shooters must stay at these places without any movement watching the radius of shooting only with his eyes. A number of hunters say, that despite the hardness and labor-intensiveness of this type of hunting it brings great excitement in the result.

According to the estimations of the Institute of zoology of Kazakhstan, wolf population in Kazakhstan reaches about 90 000. The most favorable time for hunting is the period between January 10 till March 10.

Scientists believe that wolves take their roots at Arabia peninsula, Near East and Asia about 2 million years ago. Scientists still do not know how they managed to settle in different territories. However, it is clear, that their high intellect and great physical abilities helped them do that.

http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=124027

A 14 year old girl is dead after suffering a gunshot wound to the head while duck hunting in northeast South Dakota.

The accident took place before 9:00 a.m. at a slough west of Buffalo Lake, which is less than 20 miles from Sisseton.

The victim was the daughter of the other member of the hunting party. No names have been released. The Marshall County Sheriff is investigating the incident.

Stay with KSFY for the very latest on this developing story.

http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/33700944.html

Abu Dhabi will host its international Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (Abu Dhabi 2008), which is sponsored by Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Emirates Falconers' Club HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, from Oct. 8- 11, 2008.

Hundreds of exhibitors from around the world will attend the Exhibition, which is organised by the Emirates Falconers' Club, with support from the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

The High Committee organising the exhibition announced that the press conference on this event will be held at the headquarters of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Cultural Foundation, Ibn Majid Hall, first floor) at 12:30 noon on Monday, Oct. 6th, 2008.

http://www.uaedailynews.com/world/1387.html

Hunting migratory birds is a culturally and economically important activity in the North African and Middle Eastern countries bordering the Mediterranean. BirdLife International and its Partners in the region have just completed the three-year Sustainable Hunting Project to strengthen the management of bird hunting, reduce excessive, indiscriminate and illegal hunting of migratory birds, and enhance compliance with international and regional agreements on migratory bird conservation.

The Society of the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL, BirdLife in Lebanon) and Association “Les Amis des Oiseaux” (AAO, BirdLife in Tunisia) were chosen as the focal national Partrners in North Africa and in the Middle East, to demonstrate the range of activities which could be replicated in other countries.

Eight national reports on migratory bird hunting were produced, providing the first baseline information on hunting in many of the project countries. Regional “synthesis reports” covered key topics, including hunting practices, policy and legislation, hunting management, the religious, cultural and socioeconomic significance of migratory bird hunting, and alternative economic models. Two further reports looked at regional compliance with international conventions and agreements, and the use of lead shot.

“Hunters think that migratory birds have large population sizes and contribute no value to the ecosystem" —Bassima Khatib, SPNL Assistant Director General

“Hunters think that migratory birds have large populations and contribute no value to the ecosystem, thus migratory species are more vulnerable to hunting than local species”, said SPNL Assistant Director General Bassima Khatib.

The project developed a comprehensive set of guidelines for politicians and decision makers, and a Code of Practice for Responsible Hunting of Migratory Birds for hunters, published in English and Arabic. AAO worked with the national federation of hunters’ associations to include the Code of Practice in a guide in pocket format, which is issued to all registered hunters and law enforcement bodies in Tunisia.

There was a special focus on school-age children, to educate the next generation of hunters. SPNL produced a comprehensive educational programme for school children, which included full interactive resources for teachers. During the spring migration 2007, AAO launched a project targeting young people involved in the trapping of thousands of migratory birds in the oases of South Tunisia.

Governments in the region have agreed to strengthen national compliance with relevant international agreements and conventions. Lasting partnerships have been established between governments, hunters’ organisations and conservation NGOs, ensuring that progress on sustainable hunting will continue even though the project has come to an end.

There is an important legal falconry tradition in the area of Cap Bon, Tunisia where a limited number of female Eurasian Sparrowhawks are trapped in in spring, used for hunting and then released in early June.
Zoom In

“The achievements of the Sustainable Hunting Project will be used as tools to build on in future flyway regional projects in the region" —Jonathan Barnard, BirdLife International

“The project has resulted in a true exchange between the hunters and our association, and the two partners have agreed to fight together against poaching and unsustainable hunting”, said Claudia Feltrup-Azafzaf, AAO’s Director of Projects. “It is now most important to maintain this exchange, to develop the ideas which germinated during the project and to ensure long-term awareness-raising and training programmes for hunters and the wider public.”

“The achievements of the Sustainable Hunting Project will be used as tools to build on in future flyway regional projects in the region, such as the Soaring Bird and Wings Over Wetlands projects”, said SPNL’s Bassima Khatib.

Jonathan Barnard, BirdLife’s Programmes and Projects manager, said: “The project has provided a platform at both regional and national levels for continuing to improve the management of bird hunting in the region, and to promote more sustainable hunting practices. Ultimately this leads to a safer migration, and a better future, for birds using these routes.”

The project was funded by the European Union’s LIFE – Third Countries Fund

http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2008/08/sustainable_hunting.html

Steve Merlo

All hunters need to be aware of the new laws in effect since July 1 regarding the use of lead bullets while hunting big game or coyote.

The highly contested ban, supposedly enacted to protect the endangered California condor from ingesting lead from the carcasses they feed on, has caused mass confusion among the hunting and shooting fraternities. Hopefully, this column will settle the problem once and for all.

Hunters and shooters may continue to shoot their .22 rim fire and high-powered rifles within the eastern boundary of Highway 99 and the western edge of Interstate 5. Shooters may continue to fire lead bullets at any known shooting range, such as the one at 5-Dogs, but hunters may not possess lead ammunition or the rifles to shoot them while hunting in the field. To be caught in possession of both will result in immediate and expensive citations. Shotguns are not included in the ban.

Regular .22 (Long Rifle, Long, or Short) shells and rifles are banned altogether within the zone, because no ammunition manufacturer currently makes a non-toxic bullet for them. However, both CCI (Federal) and PMC have started manufacturing .22 Winchester Rimfire Magnum cartridges with non-toxic bullets, which should be on their way to dealers at this moment. The cartridges will have a 30-grain copper bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2,050 feet per second, and will be legal to use on coyotes and other vermin within the impacted area.

Pete Cattani, owner of the popular Ammo Dump on Easton Avenue, says his sales on copper projectiles have skyrocketed over 25 percent, while his lead bullet sales remain constant. "I sell a lot of ammo to sportsmen hunting out of state, and most want lead."

However, lots of them are already switching over to the Barnes Triple Shock X Bullets or Nosler E-Tip, which have proved devastating to big game all over the world. In a more light-hearted moment, Cattani also pointed out that, "Copper projectiles would work just fine on condors, too, in case someone ever gets attacked by one and has to protect himself."

Most big-game and coyote hunters in our area have already made the leap from reloading lead bullets to the more expensive copper.

In fact, some of us who have are enjoying some incredible accuracy and knockdown power with the "new" bullets, even though some people are having continuing problems with accuracy with the new-style ammo.

With 25-40 percent less contact with a rifle's lands and grooves than conventional bullets, it may take a while to get things on the right track. Look for that problem to be solved within the very near future, when new loads and loading literature come out.

The condor protection zone extends from the border of Mexico well into over a third of the state, ending at the northern border of deer hunting Zone D-7 on the eastern side of the San Joaquin Valley and the northern part of the coastal zones past San Francisco. Only the area between I-5 and Highway 99 remains open, because the California Fish and Game Commission members could not call that space a "traditional condor habitat" as they did the rest of the contended area.

http://www.bakersfield.com/136/story/494527.html

KEONJHAR: People of a town in Orissa's Keonjhar district executed a barbaric revenge on an elephant that had killed eight people over the last two years.

On Tuesday evening, when the elephant raided the area for fruits, a mob doused it with petrol and set it on fire. Its entire body in flames, the elephant ran wildly in all directions looking for water. But the mob beat drums and threw firecrackers to block its escape routes. Blinded with pain and disoriented, it would crash to its knees, struggle to its feet and run around again.

The elephant was on the verge of collapse when a downpour put out the flames. He was last seen on Wednesday, severely burnt but walking on NH-215. Forest officials said they have no information about the condition of the elephant.

"We have no information about this incident. I will definitely start an inquiry," assistant conservator of forests Bimalendu Acharya said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/In ... e/articleshow/3146774.cms

A spot of rabbit-shooting turned into a trip to hospital for a Dannevirke woman after she was accidently shot in the stomach on Sunday. Police say the woman was taken to Palmerston North Hospital, and the incident is being investigated.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/eveningstandard/4573275a6502.html

Arusha Times
Valentine Marc Nkwame
Arusha

Yaeda in Mbulu district is once-more the Eden it used to be after the Arab investors who wanted to turn the vast valley into a hunting zone recently called it quits.

"The Arabs have left, they have taken away even their tents and other camping equipment. Yaeda is once again a peaceful area and the residents are happy," said Mandege-Naftal Jonga (Kitandu) who was speaking at Karatu recently.

For the last two years the deep, vast Yaeda has been a pawn of controversy following a proposal by Arab investors who intended to take over the entire 3975 square kilometers of the valley and the Eyasi escarpment in the Eastern division of Mbulu District, Manyara Region and convert the area into a hunting arena.

Yaeda valley, which since human evolution has been home to the East Africa's only remaining Bush people, the Hadzabe, was later to become an area of controversy between the native residents, among them the Hadza people, Datoga, and the Barbaig, who were at loggerheads with both the investors ands some Mbulu District Officials who supported the project.

The over 10,000 Residents in the area have since 2006 and late 2007 been living in fear, some alleging that some officials were threatening them to either accept the investor or be evicted from Yaeda-chini valley .

The Tanzania United Arab Emirates (UAE) Safaris Limited, which had planned to introduce both commercial and sports hunting activities in the valley, had moved into the valley in 2006 and pitched up a temporary camp near Dumanga.

During that time Reuben Mathayo the Mongo-wa-Mono village chairman, one of the officials who supported the Arab investors, said the agents from the company have promised a number of development projects in the location.

The Arab hunters may be gone, but Hadza bush people are facing another danger: hunger. Naftal Jonga says that increasing human activities in the valley has made a large number of animals to disappear. Animals are the major source of food for the Bushmen.

The current Hadzabe population is less than 2000 and drastically falling. "There are about 1800 Bushmen living in Yaeda at the moment," said Mandege Naftal Jonga, who is an enlightened Hadzabe who lives and conducts research in the valley.

According to Jonga, some 30 years ago, the bush people population at Yaeda was more than 5000 but since then about 3200 Hadzabe people have disappeared mostly through deaths brought about by epidemics and drought.

With over 3200 Bushmen dying in a period of 30 years, according to the researcher, it means an average of 106 Hadzabe people dying every year.

Jongo said he was sure of the Hadzabe population that was recorded 30 years ago. "This is because in 1977 the then Tanzanian president, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere toured the Yaeda valley and all important data concerning the Bushmen had to be compiled.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200806021112.html

A pair of fishermen came under attack from a 10ft shark in the north of Scotland, it has been revealed.

The anglers filmed the shark as it circled and then rammed into the side of their boat.

The shark is thought to be a porbeagle, an endangered species rarely seen so close to the shoreline.

http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALe ... 5DJ3l2aAU3QFH4t75S7pu6eyA