The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) recently published its 28th Artenschutzbrief, a magazine reporting about up-to-date information on current campaigns and actions for the protection of migratory birds. One of the articles cited our projects press release about a young lapwing ringed by project member Christopher Marlow at the Dümmer. The bird fledged in the Ochsenmoor and migrated towards its wintering grounds last summer. However, the lapwing with the ring number Helgoland 6420421 was legally shot in northern France on 23 September. This is because hunting lapwings and many other species that are protected in large parts of Europe is still permitted in France.
Concerning this topic, the German ornithologist magazine DER FALKE already published an article in 2021, written by project members Johannes Melter, Christopher Marlow, Andreas Barkow, Heinrich Belting and Jürgen Ludwig. This text discussed the decline of the Black-tailed godwit population in Germany over the past 25 years and the efforts to improve their habitat conditions. Actually, there is a hunting moratorium for Black-tailed Godwits in France. However, it was already known that a resumption of hunting in French stopover areas could jeopardize these efforts. Satellite telemetry data revealed that the birds often use ponds set up for hunting during stopovers in French areas. The German breeding population could directly be threatened if hunting resumes in France. Despite conservation efforts in German breeding areas, reversing the negative trend remains challenging due to habitat degradation. Furthermore, the article emphasizes the need to end the meadow bird hunting in France and enforce regulations to protect meadow bird species as non-huntable.
