FRANCE - WEASEL AND PINE MARTEN PROTECTED

The Minister of ecology with decree of 2 December deleted from the list of the species which can be declared as noxious by prefects, and therefore huntable, contained in article 1 og the decree of 30 September 1988, the following species: weasel (Mustela nivalis) and pine marten (Martes martes) (Journal officiel de la République française, 11 Décembre 2008).

CROATIA - MINISTER HUNTING WITH ACCUSED

Croatian Minister of the Interior Ivica Kirin gave his resignation in front of photos showing him going shooting together ex-general Mladen Markac, accused for war crimes by the international penal Court of The Hague. Markac, being in watched freedom since 2004, had no right to go hunting without giving notice of it, even if he had the head of the Ministry controlling police near him as a warrant. The Croatian Police, in fact, arrested Markac on 29 December because the International Court asked for his immediate transfer to The Hague because of violation of rules concerning watched freedom. The non authorized hunting took place in the week between 17 and 23 December. Markac was arrested in his house at Zagreb. He is charged for murder and violation of human rights (AP, 29 December).

In 2001, the Commission received a complaint that the project to irrigate the irrigable area of the Segarra-Garrigues Canal would affect the only two areas important for the conservation of steppe-land birds in Catalonia, also known as ‘Important Bird Areas’ (‘IBAs’), identified as Nos 142 and 144 in the 1998 IBA directory. Certain areas included in IBAs 142 and 144, affected by the irrigation project at issue, such as the areas known as ‘Plans de Sió’, ‘Belianes-Preixana’ and ‘Secans del Segrià-Garrigues’, are the habitat of groups, inter alia, of little bustard (Tetrax tetrax), Dupont’s lark (Chersophilus duponti), roller (Coracias garrulus) and Bonelli’s eagle (Hieraætus fasciatus). Therefore, the Commission has taken an action in the case n. C-186/06 in front of the Court of Justice. This has given a judgment on 18 December 2007, stating:

'(The Court) declares that, by authorising the irrigation project in the irrigable area of the Segarra-Garrigues Canal in the Province of Lleida, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under the first sentence of Article 4(4) of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds to take appropriate measures to avoid, in the areas affected by that project which ought to have been classified as special protection areas, the prohibited disturbances.'  (Court of Justice,  18 December).

More kangaroos should be slaughtered and eaten to help save the world from global warming, according to the environmental association 'Greenpeace'. Greenpeace energy campaigner Mark Wakeham urged Australians to substitute some red meat for kangaroo to help reduce land clearing and the release of methane gas (ivu-veg-news@yahoogroups.com, 10 October). It is a pity that Greenpeace omitted to call for vegetarism. Please send a protest to greenpeace@au.greenpeace.org and m.diesendorf@unsw.edu.au, or go to http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun  and click on 'opinion' and choose 'send a letter to the editor'.

Updated 12 October 2007