EU Nature Protection Legislation – Focus on Species Protection

Guide on Sustainable Hunting
The Birds Directive fully recognises the legitimacy of hunting wild birds as a form of sustainable use. Hunting is an activity that provides significant social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits in different regions of the European Union. It is limited to certain species, listed in the Directive, which also provides a series of ecological principles and legal requirements relating to this activity, to be implemented through Member States’ legislation. This provides the framework for the management of hunting. There has been a lot of controversy, and in recent years some confrontation, over the compatibility of hunting with certain requirements of the Directive. The controversy is often fed by differing interpretations of those requirements.

In this framework, there is clearly a demand for improved guidance on the hunting provisions of the Directive. This is evident from the extent of litigation on the subject. There have also been many questions to the Commission on this subject including those from the European Parliament. This must also be seen in the context of the increased polarisation as is evidenced by contrasting petitions to Parliament from hunting and bird conservation organisations, which have secured the signatures of millions of people.

In 2001 the European Commission, in co-operation with experts from Member States and key stakeholder groups, such as BirdLife International and the Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the European Union (FACE), launched the “Sustainable Hunting Initiative”, aimed at promoting dialogue and co-operation between environmental and hunters’ organisations in order to achieve and enhance sustainable hunting under the Birds Directive. Sustainable Hunting can be defined as: “The use of wild game species and their habitats in a way and at a rate that does not lead to the long-term decline of biodiversity or hinder its restoration. Such use maintains the potential of biodiversity to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations, as well as maintaining hunting itself as an accepted social, economic and cultural activity. When hunting is conducted in such a sustainable manner, it can positively contribute to the conservation of wild populations and their habitats and also benefit society”.

Some of the most important outcomes of the initiative have been:

• The publication of a European Commission Guide to sustainable Hunting under the Birds Directive, which provides clear guidance for Member States and stakeholders on the legal and technical implementation of the Birds Directive’s provisions on hunting;
• The adoption of an EU Agreement on Sustainable Hunting, which was signed in 2004 by BirdLife International and FACE and provided the basis for a constructive partnership among stakeholders involved in conservation (hunters, conservation groups, etc.) to ensure that the hunting of birds is properly managed
• The launch of an awareness-raising programme on Natura 2000 among hunters;
• The publication of EU Management plans for 13 huntable bird species considered to be in an unfavourable conservation status.

The Guide to sustainable Hunting under the Birds Directive, in particular, provides for a sound analysis of Articles 7 and 9 of the Birds Directive, which raise significant issues. Namely, concerning Article 7 there is a thorough overview of the huntable species and the rationale for allowing their hunting as well as the general principles and criteria to be respected in hunting (non jeopardisation of conservation efforts in areas of distribution, wise use, ecologically balanced control). Moreover, regarding Article 9, emphasis is given to the two conditions for derogations which must be satisfied: i. proof that there is “no other satisfactory solution” and ii. demonstration of one of the reasons allowed under 9(1)(a)(b)(c).