The human health impacts of lead have been known for millennia but the environmental impacts of lead ammunition have only received attention during the past 100 years. To a large extent the United ...States provided leadership in identifying and researching these effects and then spearheading campaigns to transition away from lead shotgun ammunition for waterfowl hunting. However, the appetite for further federal transition has largely stalled in the U.S. except for apparently limited action linked to individual states, charismatic species, and specific sites. Europe, on the other hand, though generally rather late to the table with regard to lead shotgun ammunition and waterfowl hunting, is now pushing ahead with several initiatives that are likely to see substantial partial, if not total, restrictions on the use of all lead ammunition (for shotguns and rifles) within 5 to 10 years. We discuss the policy drivers behind these moves, summarize the key attitudes and perceived constraints to transition, and provide (cautious) timetables and limited recommendations for future changes. Our discussion will include comparisons between efforts in the U.S. and those in Europe.
The human, wildlife and environmental health impacts of lead ammunitionhave prompted efforts to transition to non‐lead ammunition around the world.The United States and Europe face similar drivers of change, and largelysimilar constraints, yet their approaches differ. We explore the similaritiesand differences in an effort to aid those seeking to transition to non‐leadammunition.
There are an increasing number of cyber-vigilante groups in the United Kingdom who use the Internet as a tool for regulation and retributive justice. The policing of child sexual predators by citizen ...groups outside of law enforcement, commonly termed ‘paedophile hunters’, has evoked a range of responses among media commentators and the general public. This article explores public perceptions of vigilante justice in the United Kingdom via an online survey to assess the extent to which they are considered retributive. It focusses on the moral justice imposed by such groups and interrogates the relationship between retribution and doxing (the ‘naming and shaming’ tactics which are commonly actioned by paedophile hunting groups). The findings highlight three dominant responses to cyber-vigilantism: (1) public support for cyber-vigilantism; (2) doxing as a human rights issue; and (3) a lack of faith in the criminal justice system. This article is consequently concerned with the merits and drawbacks of retributive justice when led at a community level and critically examines perceptions of this form of citizen-policing.
According to the general principles of tort law, in order to succeed a plaintiff must prove causal nexus between the damage he or she sustained and the actions of a particular defendant. However, in ...some factual situations this task appears to be impossible, and the question arises whether the plaintiff should be left uncompensated or rather the general rule on proof of causation has to be relaxed. In a groundbreaking case Summers v. Tice (the facts of which are also known as ‘two hunters dilemma’), the Supreme Court of California favored the latter option. The Court shifted the burden of proof and decided that under these exceptional circumstances it is for each of the defendants to absolve himself from liability by providing evidence that he could not had caused the damage. The conclusion of the Court does not cause any doubts. However scholars dispute over the exact explanation of that conclusion, because it is the explanation that is crucial for future similar cases.The circumstances of the Summers case are thoroughly analyzed by many writers. Some suggest that even the number of defendants matters (supposing thus, that if there were three of them the court would not have reached the same conclusion). On the other hand, the character of their activity is underlined. The proponents of this point of view focus on the fact that the members of hunting party can coordinate their actions and it is this opportunity of coordination that justifies the burden shifting. The common denominator for numerous authors is spotlighting the fact that both hunters are at fault for causing the uncertainty, even though one of them might not be at fault for causing damage. However, in some other situation the uncertainty could have been caused without their fault. The author doubts if in the latter case the defendants should escape liability.The author offers the following explanation of the two hunters dilemma. Whenever it has been proven that defendants acted negligently subjecting the plaintiff to a certain type of risk and it has been proven that one of them did actually caused plaintiff’s damage, neither of the defendants can absolve himself from liability merely relying on the fact that the damage may have been caused by the other defendant. Otherwise the vicious circle will arise.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) position on Online Child Abuse Activist Groups (OCAGs), more commonly referred to as ‘paedophile hunters’, is that their motivation should be questioned ...since there is no positive advantage to policing. The problematic nature and inaccuracy of the term ‘paedophile hunter’ will be explored within this article, but the term is widely used in practice. Such activism increases risk to potential victims, the suspect and to the efficiency and effectiveness of criminal justice processes (
NPCC, 2018). The Probation Service (PS) has no formal position regarding the activity. Yet public fascination with those convicted of sexual offences against children and the appetite for naming and shaming these individuals is not a new phenomenon. The rise in popularity of the internet and the surge in content available online is more recent, and so is the problem of threat exceeding capacity. But what are the views of practitioners on this issue? Using in-depth qualitative interviews with police and probation practitioners, this paper examines how ‘paedophile hunting’ activity has become a concept in the management of sexual offending in England and Wales, and for the first time, reveals the views and attitudes of professionals working on the front line.
•Hunters place economic value to the ecological characteristics of the estate.•Hunters’ willingness to pay for shooting an additional farm-reared partridges was low.•The diversity of small game and ...the presence of natural vegetation were appreciated.•The presence of protected non-game species was less valued than other attributes.•The views of hunters are apparently close to those of conservationists.
In southern Europe, traditional hunting has been frequently replaced by models based on more intensive management. These systems include management strategies like the release of farm-reared animals that can cause harmful effects on biodiversity. However, little is known about the hunters’ views of this activity, and about their preferences for the ecological attributes of the hunting estates. We present the results of a choice experiment exercise evaluating the willingness to pay of Spanish hunters regarding different aspects of walked-up red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) shooting, including partridge quality (farm-reared vs. wild) and other attributes related to the ecological characteristics of the estate. We find that, when given the choice, hunting an additional wild partridge in a walked-up shooting day was valued more than 20times higher than hunting an additional farm-reared bird. The diversity of small game available and the presence of natural vegetation in the landscape in which the walked-up hunting takes place were also significantly valued. Hunters also attributed economic value (albeit lower than other attributes) to the presence of protected non-game fauna in the estate. Overall, our results show that hunters are willing to pay more for hunting on estates that have better ecological characteristics, which may be indicative of good conservation status. This suggests that identifying and promoting such estates could lead to systems that are both ecologically and economically sustainable.
Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the agent of tick-borne fever, equine, canine and human granulocytic anaplasmosis. The common route of A. phagocytophilum transmission is through a tick bite, the main ...vector in Europe being Ixodes ricinus. Despite the apparently ubiquitous presence of the pathogen A. phagocytophilum in ticks and various wild and domestic animals from Europe, up to date published clinical cases of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) remain rare compared to the worldwide status. It is unclear if this reflects the epidemiological dynamics of the human infection in Europe or if the disease is underdiagnosed or underreported. Epidemiologic studies in Europe have suggested an increased occupational risk of infection for forestry workers, hunters, veterinarians, and farmers with a tick-bite history and living in endemic areas. Although the overall genetic diversity of A. phagocytophilum in Europe is higher than in the USA, the strains responsible for the human infections are related on both continents. However, the study of the genetic variability and assessment of the difference of pathogenicity and infectivity between strains to various hosts has been insufficiently explored to date. Most of the European HGA cases presented as a mild infection, common clinical signs being pyrexia, headache, myalgia and arthralgia. The diagnosis of HGA in the USA was recommended to be based on clinical signs and the patient's history and later confirmed using specialized laboratory tests. However, in Europe since the majority of cases are presenting as mild infection, laboratory tests may be performed before the treatment in order to avoid antibiotic overuse. The drug of choice for HGA is doxycycline and because of potential for serious complication the treatment should be instituted on clinical suspicion alone.
As wolf conservation transitions away from federally sponsored protection and recovery toward sustainable management under state fish and game agencies, researchers and policymakers are interested to ...know what role hunters will play. Based upon hunters' responses to three recent surveys in Wisconsin and the northern Rockies, Treves and Martin question the assumption that hunters will steward wolves, noting that the majority of hunters that responded were unsupportive of wolf conservation. However, this conclusion largely depends upon what is meant by stewardship and what actions are required for wolves to be conserved. This article discusses the meaning of three concepts either explicitly or implicitly discussed by Treves and Martin-tolerance, acceptance, and stewardship-and offers a conceptual model of wildlife conservation behavior that clarifies the relationship among these concepts.
Public surveys can be valuable tools to collect information on wildlife distribution. Our objective was to improve the knowledge on the distribution and expanding areas of the Egyptian mongoose ...(Herpestes ichneumon) in central Spain by using an on‐line questionnaire to hunters. We assessed the reliability of information that hunters provided by comparing it with reports from wildlife professionals. Our results show a high overall congruence but significantly different information provided by hunters and professionals on the distribution of the Egyptian mongoose, suggesting that both sources provide unique data for the management of non‐game species. For example, hunters reported greater mongoose presence than professionals in areas to the east of Toledo and Ciudad Real provinces, for the whole distribution and core area of the species, suggesting that hunters could help to detect other areas where the species exists. Overall, our findings stress the importance of engaging hunters in wildlife conservation, as they can share valuable information on wildlife species, including those that are not hunted.
Our results show a high overall congruence but significantly different information provided by hunters and professionals on the distribution of the Egyptian mongoose, suggesting that both sources provide unique data for the management of non‐game species. Our findings stress the importance of engaging hunters in wildlife conservation, as they can share valuable information on wildlife species, including those that are not hunted.
PDF
