The Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) affiliated with the Middle East Sustainable Hunting Center (MESHC) and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) in partnership with theCABS (Committee Against Bird Slaughter) visited His Excellency the Governor of Baalbek-Hermel, Mr. Bashir Khodr, to explain how the APU works to combat poaching with nets and other ways.
Khoder stressed to MESHC head Adonis Al-Khatib,who is also coordinator of responsible hunting at SPNL, the necessity of working to protect nature and the pastime of responsible hunting from poaching, and pledged his support for this approach with all his ability.
For his part, Al-Khatib emphasized putting the capabilities of the unit, the center and the association at the disposal of His Excellency to achieve the desired steps to reach the establishment of responsible hunting areas that secure the continuation of the hobby in a sustainable manner and protect nature from the indiscriminate killing practiced by the hunters. It provides job opportunities for the local community in line with the concept of nature protection.
At the end of the meeting, Khatib presented his excellency with a poster and a book containing photos of joint missions of the APU with the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the Information and Investigation Division, and the Lebanese military intelligence.
The Middle East Sustainable Hunting Center (MESHC), along with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL), Birdlife International’s Lebanon partner, is implementing, at the national and international levels, a number of projects aimed at protecting migratory birds, including the Migratory Soaring Birds (MSB) project funded by the Global Environment Forum (GEF), and the project to preserve the Egyptian Vulture – The “Egyptian Vulture New LIFE” Project funded by the European Union, as well as the Safe Flyways for Bird Migration in the Mediterranean, a project funded by the Swiss MAVA Foundation.
