Lebanon campaign moves to stop shooting of migrating storks
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
16.03.2015 12:46
The Polish embassy in Lebanon is once again taking part in a campaign to protect migrating storks from being shot down by locals.
Photo: wikimedia commons/K.Billington
With hordes of birds flying back to Central Europe each year as Spring approaches, it is customary among some Lebanese to take pot-shots at the animals.
Ireneusz Kaługa, from Poland's nationwide association Grupa EkoLogiczna, has said that progress is being made in efforts to save the birds.
He told Polish Radio that ''pressure from all over the world'' has prompted the Ministry of the Environment in Lebanon to intervene. Police have apparently been told not to turn a blind eye to the shootings this year.
Meanwhile, educational programmes have been carried out in Lebanese schools, including film screenings. A competition will see the winner given a trip to Poland to help tag storks.
Up to 40,000 pairs of storks spend Spring and Summer in Poland, and folk wisdom holds that the birds bring good luck. (nh)