Home or Away: The Rescue Controversy

In issue 16 of Edition Dog (Jan 2020) I look at the challenges faced by dogs overseas in need of rescue.

WRONG END OF THE LIMESTICK?

In response to those who have questioned the use of the Blackcap as an example of a migrant to the UK suffering from the effects of trapping and the prevalence/importance of the Blackcap to Cypriot trappers , here are some links, etc to answer those challenges raised against the original article.

BIRD TRAPPING AND DECLINING MIGRANT POPULATIONS

Written in response to stories in the press questioning falling migrant bird numbers. Many blame this on farming practices and climate change but I have a different view (22nd April 2013)

The RSPB included the article in their ‘RSPB Daily’ (12th May 2013) http://paper.li/Natures_Voice/1294591314

For two winters I’ve had an unusual visitor to my bird-table – one bossy Blackcap. Watching him terrorise the more-usual winter fare of Sparrows, Tits and Dunnocks got me thinking; why on earth would this little warbler prefer to shiver in a Dorset garden than join his fellow Blackcaps wintering in the warmth of North Africa? Surely he must be quite mad? Then, someone sent me a link to a disturbing video that transformed my thinking of the little bully; maybe he wasn’t so bird-brained after all.

The video from British Forces News, showed distressing images of birds being netted in Cyprus. One species featured heavily – the Blackcap, identical to the bold bird hunkering down in my camellia. Apparently the Blackcap is a favourite of Cypriot bird trappers – a dozen fetch up to €80 to form the illegal and controversial dish, Ambelopoulia, comprising of grilled, pickled or boiled songbirds. As it’s not cost-effective to remove the entrails of the tiny corpse, the consumer is encouraged to swallow the bird whole.