We have recently closed the half closed season for migratory birds, with our much-desired host species such as pigeon, turtle dove and quail. During this period, in general, there has been a bit of everything, what has been most abundant have been the storms and torrential rains throughout the peninsular geography in general, as in many of the areas with a great love of pigeons and doves, these have fled to other farms with more forage and cover of holm oaks, due to the fear of the loud rumblings of thunder and lightning. All this happened on such delicate and vitally important days as the full moon period, when migratory birds take advantage of this time to arrive or leave for other areas.

Luckily for our estates, here the pigeons have not left but many more have come, because in our mountains, they have found abundant areas of pasture with holm oaks and high Mediterranean scrubland, where they have found protection and in turn have guaranteed food, as we have been providing food since July in various feedlots, with food from various cereals that have achieved their goal, which was to attract these much desired migratory pigeons.

As a summary of the migratory season; I can say that we have been seeing the turtledoves since April the first couples and in turn, have endured here in our farms until mid-September, and all thanks to the thousands of kilos of food that we have thrown them, as well as the planting of peas, vetch and wheat chamorro that take advantage as a second alternative, as well as the tranquility that we give them, because this season has been a very significant change in the quota and hunting period of our beloved turtledoves, because they have only been able to hunt for 7 days in Castilla la Mancha and this restriction imposed from the offices leaves much to be desired, as it is well known that this restriction is only due to a political question and without “any strength”, because here in Spain they hardly hunt turtledoves in comparison to Morocco, where they annihilate them with massive means, such as captures with nets and similar, without any order of closure whatsoever. ..

About the wood pigeons, I can say that they have bred twice this year, as we saw the first nests in April, and they have bred well thanks to the fact that we put a lot of pressure on the corvids on our farms, carrying out an exhaustive control with trap cages and firearms, which is what is authorised here by the regional ministry. If they are not controlled in this way it would be a disaster, as they eat all the eggs and chicks that the pigeons and turtle doves can raise, as this is a big problem in many of the hunting grounds, called “excess of corvids and especially magpies”.

About the quails, I can say that in an area we have of about 2,000 hectares where they are always present annually and where as a general rule there are neither abundant nor scarce, if not a normal thing within the crisis that the quail is going through, I can say that last spring many were seen as in other years on the same dates. They used to be heard singing with joy in the mornings and evenings, as this spring was very rainy and this fact was very favourable for the cereal crops to grow by leaps and bounds, and even grasses and weeds grew which had not grown with such force and stupor for years, just as the streams carried a small, but sufficient flow to supply all the animals that need it.

Everything was going very well, good spring, good harvests, good weather, until the cereal harvest arrived and then big tractors arrived, with large trailed machines called “alpacadoras”, which in less than a week left all the straw compacted into large bales of straw of about 400 kg each.

Before this event, we spoke to several of the owners of the plots in an area with a very commercial and extensive agricultural policy, to try to reach an agreement, and I would like to point out that none of them agreed to leave the straw “free” in the months of July until mid-September, and therefore we had to offer a small amount of money for such collaborative efforts.

After this event, quail that were in areas where straw was immediately removed and had no protection obviously left.

In a cereal area of another reserve with about 500 ha where less commercial and extensive agriculture is practised, we were able to convince the owners to leave the straw unharvested until 15 September (after payment). This paid off and here we were able to hunt quail in a rational way.

As a final conclusion of the half closed season, I can say that if the preserves are looked after at a general level, the natural ponds are cleaned and cleared, food is provided in feeders and magpies are controlled, we can continue to have pigeons and turtle doves in our preserves. Similarly, if the CAP law were to make it compulsory (against payment) to leave the straw in the stubble fields until mid to late September, then the quails would not have to leave.

All of the above, it is of no use that here in Spain they put “sticks to the wheels” to the hunting of turtledoves, if in Morocco they massacre them with all kinds of extremely potential net traps, without quotas or bans, where they annihilate thousands of pigeons and turtledoves without any control, just as on full moon days they wait for the quails which, exhausted and unable to swim, swim across the “strait” and take advantage of the entry points to wait for them with “clubs and sticks” and beat them to death, “That’s not hunting, that’s annihilation”.

Juan Jose Tebar

info@caceriascampodemontiel.com

www.caceriascampodemontiel.com

Spain was originally known as “HISPANIA”, meaning “land of rabbits”. Nowadays, Spain is one of the main paradise destinations for international hunters, especially for European hunters due to its proximity. 87% of Spanish territory is hunting territory, which means 43 million hectares and 32,000 hunting grounds.

Hunting is the most widespread activity in Castilla La Mancha, since its practice occupies 90 % of the surface area of this community, thus directly influencing in a very positive way the conservation of wild and game species, as well as their habitats.

20% of the national hunting land is in Castilla la Mancha, as this is where the best biotopes for small game hunting and the best stable climates for the reproduction of small game species and other steppe birds are to be found. Hunting activity accounts for 0.3% of Spain’s GDP through expenditure of 6,475 million euros, with a tax return of 614 million euros and more than 186,000 jobs. These figures are so convincing that they support the need to promote this sector, which is key to rural development in most of Spain’s rural municipalities. Beyond the economic data, it is necessary to value the contribution of hunting, as recognised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the European Union. For generations, hunting has played a silent conservation role, particularly in controlling overpopulation and disease,

care, management and conservation of the Natural Environment, in the maintenance of Protected Natural Spaces and, of course, in the reduction of the accident rate of agricultural damage and in the reduction of traffic accidents caused by game species.

Hunting and its sustainable management must be defended as an element of conservation and as an added economic value in the rural environment, as these hunting days of any of the modalities practised always generate a high level of economic activity in other sectors which also generate wealth and employment in villages and rural areas, making a significant contribution to the development of tourism and leisure in areas often threatened by abandonment and depopulation. Hunting has a very positive effect on the population roots; many hunters remain linked to their municipalities of origin thanks to being able to carry out this activity in their rural environment, slowing down an increasingly incipient rural exodus and helping to fix the population in the most disadvantaged areas.

Hunting is not only a leisure and sporting activity, nor is it just an activity with cultural connotations, but it is also a complement to traditional agricultural income, in many cases in a very significant way in large rural areas of an eminently rural region such as Castilla-La Mancha. There are numerous and varied hunting modalities practised in this area; activities such as hunting partridge, rabbit and hare in hand, traditional red-legged partridge shooting, hunting migratory birds in fixed hunting posts for wood pigeon, turtle dove, thrush, quail and duck, among others. The attractiveness of regional hunting has therefore generated a clear interest from Spanish and foreign hunters, which is reflected in a socio-economic impact that has always been rightly assumed to be important, but whose real magnitude has been unknown. Hunting has thus become an important economic activity in Castilla-La Mancha, a driving force for social and economic development in many rural areas. The contribution of the hunting sector to regional development has traditionally been ignored and reduced to the economic aspect and based on subjective estimates. It is necessary to know the wealth that the activity generates, its contribution and study in the different economic activities with the aim of adopting the pertinent decisions regarding its promotion and development, in the spirit of knowing exactly its influence. It was therefore necessary to address this shortcoming with the application of verifiable, objective methodologies, with concrete and real data that economically evaluate this activity. In accordance with the importance of this activity in the region and the need to know the reality of its impact on the social, economic and cultural spheres, the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha has commissioned this study to the consultancy-auditing firm Deloitte through the Artemisan Foundation. These pages have been drawn up taking into account three main aspects: firstly, the economic aspect, through the direct and indirect contribution of hunting activity, its contribution to GDP, the generation of tax returns and the generation of employment; secondly, the social aspect, through its involvement in cultural and educational and awareness-raising aspects; and thirdly, the environmental aspect, which includes the contribution of hunting activity to the environment. Secondly, the social aspect, through its involvement in cultural and educational and awareness-raising aspects; and thirdly, the environmental aspect, which includes the contribution of hunting activity to the conservation of habitats and species and of natural resources in general. It has therefore been an ambitious project that provides real and verifiable, objective data, which will help policy-makers to implement policy.

The aim is to ensure that the hunting sector understands the full extent of its reality, and therefore the adoption of measures and actions of vital importance for the future of the hunting sector.

Here is the impressive result of the evaluation of the economic and social impact of hunting in Castilla la Mancha in 2016, a very interesting and surprising result.

Spain was originally known as “HISPANIA”, meaning “land of rabbits”. Nowadays, Spain is one of the main paradise destinations for international hunters, especially for European hunters due to its proximity. 87% of Spanish territory is hunting territory, which means 43 million hectares and 32,000 hunting grounds.

Hunting is the most widespread activity in Castilla La Mancha, since its practice occupies 90 % of the surface area of this community, thus directly influencing in a very positive way the conservation of wild and game species, as well as their habitats.

20% of the national hunting land is in Castilla la Mancha, as this is where the best biotopes for small game hunting and the best stable climates for the reproduction of small game species and other steppe birds are to be found. Hunting activity accounts for 0.3% of Spain’s GDP through expenditure of 6,475 million euros, with a tax return of 614 million euros and more than 186,000 jobs. These figures are so convincing that they support the need to promote this sector, which is key to rural development in most of Spain’s rural municipalities. Beyond the economic data, it is necessary to value the contribution of hunting, as recognised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the European Union. For generations, hunting has played a silent conservation role, particularly in controlling overpopulation and disease,

care, management and conservation of the Natural Environment, in the maintenance of Protected Natural Spaces and, of course, in the reduction of the accident rate of agricultural damage and in the reduction of traffic accidents caused by game species.

Hunting and its sustainable management must be defended as an element of conservation and as an added economic value in the rural environment, as these hunting days of any of the modalities practised always generate a high level of economic activity in other sectors which also generate wealth and employment in villages and rural areas, making a significant contribution to the development of tourism and leisure in areas often threatened by abandonment and depopulation. Hunting has a very positive effect on the population roots; many hunters remain linked to their municipalities of origin thanks to being able to carry out this activity in their rural environment, slowing down an increasingly incipient rural exodus and helping to fix the population in the most disadvantaged areas.

Hunting is not only a leisure and sporting activity, nor is it just an activity with cultural connotations, but it is also a complement to traditional agricultural income, in many cases in a very significant way in large rural areas of an eminently rural region such as Castilla-La Mancha. There are numerous and varied hunting modalities practised in this area; activities such as hunting partridge, rabbit and hare in hand, traditional red-legged partridge shooting, hunting migratory birds in fixed hunting posts for wood pigeon, turtle dove, thrush, quail and duck, among others. The attractiveness of regional hunting has therefore generated a clear interest from Spanish and foreign hunters, which is reflected in a socio-economic impact that has always been rightly assumed to be important, but whose real magnitude has been unknown. Hunting has thus become an important economic activity in Castilla-La Mancha, a driving force for social and economic development in many rural areas. The contribution of the hunting sector to regional development has traditionally been ignored and reduced to the economic aspect and based on subjective estimates. It is necessary to know the wealth that the activity generates, its contribution and study in the different economic activities with the aim of adopting the pertinent decisions regarding its promotion and development, in the spirit of knowing exactly its influence. It was therefore necessary to address this shortcoming with the application of verifiable, objective methodologies, with concrete and real data that economically evaluate this activity. In accordance with the importance of this activity in the region and the need to know the reality of its impact on the social, economic and cultural spheres, the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha has commissioned this study to the consultancy-auditing firm Deloitte through the Artemisan Foundation. These pages have been drawn up taking into account three main aspects: firstly, the economic aspect, through the direct and indirect contribution of hunting activity, its contribution to GDP, the generation of tax returns and the generation of employment; secondly, the social aspect, through its involvement in cultural and educational and awareness-raising aspects; and thirdly, the environmental aspect, which includes the contribution of hunting activity to the environment. Secondly, the social aspect, through its involvement in cultural and educational and awareness-raising aspects; and thirdly, the environmental aspect, which includes the contribution of hunting activity to the conservation of habitats and species and of natural resources in general. It has therefore been an ambitious project that provides real and verifiable, objective data, which will help policy-makers to implement policy.

The aim is to ensure that the hunting sector understands the full extent of its reality, and therefore the adoption of measures and actions of vital importance for the future of the hunting sector.

Here is the impressive result of the evaluation of the economic and social impact of hunting in Castilla la Mancha in 2016, a very interesting and surprising result.