Despite the harsh economic situation currently prevalent in Lebanon, and due to the need to protect the bird migration corridor in the autumn, the Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) of the Middle East Sustainable Hunting Center (MESHC) and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) working in partnership with the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) and with the support of the Green Grants Fund (GGF) and the support of the EV New LIFE project, under the EU fund, held today a training session on first aid for migratory birds in cooperation with the Hunting Legends Collective of the Western Bekaa.
The training included the initial principles of rescuing an injured bird in the field in order to transfer it safely to the vet for treatment and the role of the responsible hunter in protecting the migration corridor in terms of awareness and combating poaching. The participants were trained by Kamal Agha, a member of the first aid team in the APU.
The head of the MESHC, Adonis Al-Khatib, spoke about the development of the unit’s work and the ability of hunters to keep pace with ideas that serve the sustainability of the pastime of hunting and the protection of nature.
Shirine Bou Raffoul, head of the APU, stressed the importance of the idea of the hunter treating injured birds, which is a precedent in the world of hunting. She also indicated that the unit will train groups of sustainable hunters in various areas of Lebanon and called, once again, for a distinction between the poacher and the sustainable hunter.
After the session, responsible hunter Jamil Al-Mays stressed the importance of saving injured birds and donated to the unit 5 large cages from his farm, putting them in the service of the first aid department to rehabilitate injured wild birds and help them return to nature.
