August, 2, 2012. - ADDA , DEPANA and Franz Weber Foundation, have submitted a complaint against the Catalan Government ( Generalitat de Catalunya) to the European Commission for violating the Wild Birds Directive.

The three organisations accord great importance to the conservation of wild birds and consequently have decided to send a complaint to the Committee of Petitions of the European Parliament. They consider that European regulations on the protection of wild birds have been breached and that, by allowing the live capture of birds the Catalan Government is undermining protection and conservation of certain species of songbirds.

Wild birds are trapped, caged and trained for singing. A high percentage die from the trauma of the capture or from the handling process The Catalan government argue that such captures are a part of the tradition of the region.

These birds have a very important role in balancing biodiversity and some species caught are falling in numbers threatened the continuous human pressure on natural habitats, poaching, trade of these birds and repeated and so-called “exceptional" hunting licenses. According to the rulings of Court of Justice of the European Union, these captures are unjustifiable.

ADDA has launched a campaign to collect signatures in this website (in Spanish). Click on the link to download the petition.

The petition may also be found under the Change.org website.

http://www.change.org/es/peticiones/manifiesta-tu-rechazo-por-la-caza-de-60-246-p%C3%A1jaros-cantores