Sign Of The Times..

Turtle Dove. Author Unknown.

Malta's spring hunting referendum resulted in the country voting in a national poll to allow the privilege of a few to continue to kill for fun in spring. The rapidly declining Turtle Dove and Quail will be/will have been legally shot this spring, along with other species in their thousands. 

Truly amazing this isn't it, it's all illegal under the terms of the island's membership of the EU, and as such they could be thrown out, but nobody does anything about it, or more to the point maybe doesn't want to do anything about it.  

Quail. Author Unknown.

It is unfortunate that amongst other campaigners, an independent team led by Chris Packham last year to address this issue and to confront the shooters, has had no impact this time, but I'm convinced nobody will be giving up the fight against this tragic situation both in Malta and elsewhere in the world.

Meanwhile some slaughtering back home.... 

An interesting thread developed on a local website I visit daily, interesting if only for the one response to a brief comment I made regarding the disappearance of three male Hen Harriers in Bowland recently. 

I've deleted the authors name as I have no permission to publish it and am not prepared to do so without it. Iv'e also deleted the opening comments which are irrelevant to the main subject, but otherwise have copied word for word what was said in the thread but not including the sign. 

Pete Woodruff.

Everyone - birders or not - should be aware that three male Hen Harriers have gone missing from active nests in Bowland.

Anonymous

….but I did notice that beneath the road sign denoting the boundary of the Forest of Bowland ANOB (between Dolphinholme and Abbeystead) someone had added a second handwritten sign which read 'Twinned with Malta'.

Pete Woodruff

This is an excellent piece of info 'anonymous'.

 

The sign you mention is presumably the one depicting the Hen Harrier, which in itself is - and always was - an insult to the species, totally inappropriate, and should have been dismantled years ago. 

Now more bad news. 

More bad news from me is that 'other things' have taken me over for at least four days, but looking like the possibility of a week off the road with no birding/blogging. 

Well, that won't drastically change anyone's life at all....but it certainly will mine.