Net hunting operations in the Qalamoun and rural Damascus areas continue with the arrival of autumn, targeting quail and fig sparrows, thereby endangering migratory and rare birds and threatening the country's biodiversity and ecological balance. These nets are spread over wide distances, and loudspeakers and recording devices are used to lure birds into them, in practices that do not distinguish between species and negatively affect wildlife.
In the same context, hunters transport caught birds to distributors, who reach consumers through meat shops, grocery stores, and social media platforms, with prices starting from 150,000 Syrian pounds. Ahmad Farhood, from the residents of Eastern Qalamoun, confirms that some birds are sold under inaccurate names, and that prohibited species such as the shrike and hoopoe, or those threatened with extinction like the turtle dove and the partridge, have fallen victim to these practices.
For his part, Imran Bakr, from the residents of Jiroud, pointed out that the sounds emitted by loudspeakers have become a source of disturbance for residents, as they continue overnight until late morning hours. In the framework of combating these practices, the police in the areas of Nabk and Yabroud in rural Damascus carried out a campaign that resulted in the destruction of more than 500 meters of illegal fishing nets, while continuing to warn of legal accountability against those who set them up.
Environmental and wildlife experts clarified that nets pose a significant danger to biodiversity, as birds find it difficult to see them and suffer injuries to their wings and legs, as well as dehydration. Dr. Maher Dioub noted that these traps also affect raptors, bats, and beneficial insects, while rare species such as the Syrian hoopoe, social wheatear, Egyptian vulture, eagles, and pink flamingos are hunted, in addition to certain duck species when nets are set up near water bodies.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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