Artemisan and RFEC prepare a 'Guide to good practices for hunters in the face of the pandemic'
The Artemisan Foundation and the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation have prepared a 'Guide to good practices for hunters in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic'. This document aims to detail the measures that must be adopted when carrying out population control for damage (agriculture, livestock, etc.) that is being authorized in several autonomous communities.
The document, which can be downloaded from the Artemisan Foundation website and from the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation website, aims to help hunters who carry out the necessary work of population control to do so in accordance with all health recommendations and with knowledge of the relevant guidelines and limitations, thus facilitating the development of authorisations for the control of fauna due to damage by the competent public administrations.
Given the disparity of criteria depending on the autonomous communities, the first recommendation of the guide is that the hunter checks the regulations issued by each competent department in his region, as well as establishing communication with the person in charge of the hunting ground where he usually carries out his activity.
In a five-page document, the guide reviews all the necessary precautionary measures, including prior organization and preparation, travel, recommendations for personal hygiene and responsibility, cleaning of weapons, utensils and clothing, instructions for going out into the field and also for returning home.
In addition, the guide includes a section with recommendations on the use of dogs or other animals such as ferrets or falconry birds during hunting activities and another on the treatment of hunted animals, both in light of this new situation caused by Covid-19, as well as those previously existing and which should be remembered.
The RFEC and Artemisan insist on the need to carry out population control actions for game species to avoid damage during the state of alarm, a position that has the support of numerous scientists and more than 50 entities from the rural and hunting world that have signed a joint manifesto that can be downloaded at this link.