Johannesburg, 9 November 2012:
The massacre of tens of thousands of migrating Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis) killed in Nagaland, Wokha district in northeast India, has shocked the world. Conservation India claimed that about 12 000 – 14 000 Amur Falcons were hunted for commercial sale and human consumption most days during October 2012 in Nagaland and it is believed that this killing is not limited to this particular district only.
The
Amur Falcon is a migratory raptor species, about the size of a pigeon,
that travels up to 22 000 km from its breeding grounds in Siberia, Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea and China in
eastern Asia to the non-breeding grounds in Africa including Somalia,
Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and southern Africa (excluding Namibia). Amur
Falcons are a resource shared by many countries, including South
Africa, and they play a vital role in controlling insect pests,
particularly locusts. The conservation of the species is therefore of
international concern.
In
October, huge numbers of Amur Falcons arrive in northeast India en
route to their final overwintering destinations in Africa. It
is at one of their migratory stop-over sites in India, in the late
afternoon, that these falcons descend from the powerlines on which they
perch, to forested patches along the banks of the Doyang reservoir to
roost. It is then when hunters catch the falcons using massive fishing
nets. The birds are inhumanely caught and kept alive until they are sold
as meat in markets in the nearby villages and larger cities. “The large
scale hunting has happened over the last five to six years, since the
construction of the water reservoir in Nagaland that likely attracts
insects on which the Amur Falcons feed”, says the Bombay Natural History
Society in India. The killing of Amur Falcon has been illegal since
2010 but this has not, however, stopped either the hunters or illicit
sellers of these falcons.
BirdLife
South Africa is extremely concerned about the killing of this species
at certain parts of the migration route. “If this continues the numbers
of the species could start crashing globally, and this would
significantly affect the birds that spend “their winter” in South
Africa”, says Dr Hanneline Smit-Robinson, BirdLife South Africa
Conservation Manager.
“We
would like to offer our full support to Conservation India and the
Bombay Natural History Society, the BirdLife Partner in India, in their
engagements with the national and state governments to ban the hunting
(and trade) of Amur Falcons in Nagaland”, states Mark D. Anderson, CEO
of BirdLife South Africa. It is encouraging that the
Indian Minister of Environment and Forests, Mrs Jayanthi Natarajan, has
asked for action to be taken by the Nagaland government.
According
to a statement by Conservation India, “It is significant to note that
India, as a signatory to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), is
duty bound to prevent this killing, provide safe passage, as well as
draw up appropriate action plans for the long-term conservation of this
bird. At the recently concluded 11th Conference of the
Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), of which India
is the president for the next two years, the importance of CMS in
conserving species, and especially in stopping bush meat hunting, was
repeatedly stressed.”
The
massacre of Amur Falcons is but one example of a global crisis where
birds are hunted at their migration stopovers, and this necessitates
support of the current global conservation initiatives, such as the
Convention of Migratory Species (CMS), as well as direct interventions
at national and regional levels to ensure that conservation measures are
in place at important stopover sites. BirdLife South Africa will
approach the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) for
its support in further communication to the Indian minister and
government.
To see this - Visit - http://www.conservationindia.org/campaigns/amur-massacre).