Five logical arguments
These were Oiko’s arguments against hunting: 1) We are now living in a completely different age. The environment has been deeply damaged by a model of development that is hostile to nature. The ecosystem has deteriorated radically, biodiversity is threatened and hundreds of bird species are threatened with extinction. It is a matter of common sense, not sensitivity, that we should let animals and birds live out their life cycles, to let nature take its course. To say that hunting is a primitive urge on the part of man, an instinct, is no argument, as times have changed. We want to live in a society governed by reason, not instincts. 2) In practice, it is impossible to implement the law with regard to hunting, first of all because of the small number of game wardens (300-500 in the whole of Greece), who are usually chosen from among members of hunting associations. Despite their arguments defending their profession, the truth is that the country is impossible to monitor. Data from the Center for the Care of Wild Animals and Birds show that shootings of non-game birds, such as storks, pelicans, owls, hawks and eagles, double during hunting seasons. Last year, dozens of swans were found shot. In all, thousands of non-game birds from more than 200 species have been found shot in recent years. Meanwhile, the population of game birds is steadily decreasing. 3) These days, hunting is a hobby, not a means of survival. It is wrong that something which is a hobby for a few hundred thousand people can be allowed to destroy «winged marvels» and the ecosystem that belongs to all people everywhere. This controversial hobby violates the rights of us all. Nature is our common home. 4) Greece, which consists of a mainland and thousands of islands, could become Europe’s ecological paradise, with financial and national benefits far greater than those of hunting. In Oiko, we gave the example of the island of Tilos, where hunting has been banned. 5) In order to satisfy hunters to the utmost, the government has violated European Union legislation, with the result that the country is now under facing action by European courts.
