Hungary’s food safety authority (NEBIH) has detected bird flu infections in poultry farms in Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties, in eastern and north-east Hungary, the authority said on Wednesday.
The authority inspected farms in Nyíradony and Pátroha after reports of rising death rates and falling feed consumption. The culling of 14,500 ducks and 19,500 hens has already started, Nébih said.
The authority warned of increased infection risk in the autumn bird migration season. Under a previous order of the chief veterinarian, poultry must be kept indoors in Bács-Kiskun, Békés, Csongrád-Csanád, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Komárom-Esztergom and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties, unless open-air runs are protected by approppriate bird nets. Feed and water must be stored in closed containers, Nebih said.
Those not complying with the regulations risk losing their right to compensation in case of an outbreak, Nébih said.
Research suggests that sniffer dogs can detect coronavirus infections with outstanding accuracy. The United Arab Emirates now employs 38 sniffer dogs, including trained dogs from the Pest County Search and Rescue Service, at its airports.
Dogs’ noses have approximately 300 million scent receptors, while humans only bear 5−6 million. We have been utilising this powerful and superior sense of smell for decades to detect firearms, explosives, and drugs. Scientists have also trained dogs to detect various types of cancer, low blood sugar, and even malaria.
International studies
In the past two years, researchers have turned their attention to finding the most effective ways of detecting the signs of a COVID-19 infection, writes Nature. They started to train dogs to smell samples and alert by sitting or pawing the floor when they detect the distinctive odour of the virus. In 2020, a number of airports in the United Arab Emirates, Finland, and Lebanon took part in an experiment to test the accuracy of this method. First, specially trained sniffing dogs sniffed different sweat samples from passengers, then they checked the results against conventional tests. According to data,
“dogs in Finland and Lebanon have identified cases days before conventional tests picked up the virus, suggesting that they can spot infection before symptoms start”.
This was also confirmed by further studies. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in collaboration with Durham University and the charity Medical Detection Dogs, found that
bio-detection dogs can smell if someone is infected with COVID-19 with an accuracy rate of 94%. (Other studies claim that this accuracy rate can reach even 98%.) Canines are also able to detect the signs of the virus even in the case of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic individuals.
Great demand for Hungarian dogs
The United Arab Emirates currently has 38 sniffer dogs working at its airports, including specially trained German Shepherds, Labradors, Cocker Spaniels, and Border Collies.
At one of the main airports in Abu Dhabi, the police are working with sniffer dogs that were trained in Hungary,
László Balázs, the president of the Pest County Search and Rescue Service, told Forbes. The dogs trained at this service have proved their ability in numerous Hungarian and foreign rescue operations – for example, during the search for survivors after earthquakes –, and there is a great demand for Hungarian sniffer dogs abroad.
Studies have shown that dogs are able to screen hundreds of people within an hour. Of course, researchers do not yet know exactly how long they can maintain this performance. In practice, individuals screened by dogs are still separated for further testing. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that
dogs could help to control the pandemic as they can screen people in busy places, such as airports or sports stadiums, faster and cheaper than conventional testing methods.
Researchers from the ELKH Centre for Ecological Research and the University of Debrecen have recently published a study in the international multidisciplinary journal Scientific Reports. They claim that the Darwin–Bateman paradigm, according to which sex differences originate in differences in size and/or function of gametes, can only be partially supported by life-history trait data and their results question a key assumption of the 150-year-old paradigm.
Sex roles, i.e. behavioural and physiological differences between males and females, are common in reproduction. The debates about the evolutional origin of sex roles date back to Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, writes ELKH.
The Paradigm
150 years ago, he discovered that inter-and intrasexual competition is important for natural selection. In the process of intrasexual selection, same-sex animals compete to get the best or most mates. Intersexual selection results from interactions between the sexes, and it involves sex differences in parental care and morphological traits.
Sexual selection takes place at many levels, but the goal is always to produce more high-quality offspring by minimising energy investment. Therefore, most species try to get away with providing the least amount of care to their offspring. This often results in one parent, typically the male, providing less parental care.
According to the Darwin–Bateman paradigm, differences in size and/or function of gametes between the sexes (male gametes tend to be small and motile, while female gametes are usually larger and sessile) lead to biased sexual selection and sex differences in parental care and body size.
Because females invest a lot of energy in producing large eggs, it is much more important for them to have high-quality offspring. Males, however, tend to fight for better females but invest little energy in caring for the offspring. If this theory is true, it means that the degree of anisogamy predicts the intensity of sexual selection.
Some aspects of the Darwin–Bateman paradigm have already been extensively investigated. Nonetheless, the results of different studies often show inconsistency and the whole Darwin–Bateman paradigm has not been studied previously using life-history trait data.
Hungarian results
Hungarian evolutionary biologists investigated the relationships between anisogamy, sexual size dimorphism, sex difference in parental care and intensity of sexual selection, analysing the dataset of 64 species. According to their results, the degree of anisogamy does not predict the intensity of sexual selection. However, researchers associated male-biased sexual selection with female-biased parenting, so parental care is related to sexual selection.
They believe that in the evolutionary past, anisogamy initiated sexual selection, but later other factors such as ecological factors, life history and demography had a stronger influence on sex roles. In conclusion, the study questions the first step of the Darwin–Bateman paradigm but supports another element, so it does not refute the Darwin–Bateman paradigm.
The “One With Nature” World Hunting and Nature Exhibition in Budapest broke visitor records in many aspects, the government commissioner in charge of the expo said on Friday.
The expo which ran between September 25 and October 14, drew a record daily 35,000 visitors on its last day, Zoltán Kovács said in a video message on Facebook.
The expo’s main venue at the Hungexpo fairgrounds attracted 616,000 visitors, the highest number to ever visit an exhibition dedicated to a particular theme, he said.
Brigitte Bardot, the French actress, sex symbol and currently animal rights activist sent a quite strong message to Hungarian hunters and the organisers of the World Hunting Expo in Budapest.
The French actress has been in good relation with her Hungarian colleague, Natália Nagy and her husband, Attila Vincze, Blikkreported. As part of their exchange of letters, the French animal rights activist harshly formed her opinion about the Hungarian Hunting Expo in a handwritten letter. The letter roughly translates to the following:
“Pathetic! Our world is being destroyed by epidemics, our planet is drowning in uncontrolled population growth, the ecological balance is upset. Our world is subdued by barbarism. And in the meantime, you are hunting guided by a mere desire to kill. Well, go f**k yourselves!”
Natália Nagy told Blikk that she has been writing to Brigitte Bardot, who is currently dealing with the protection of Bonobo chimpanzees. According to the Hungarian actress, Bardot’s anger was mainly focused on hobby hunters, who she thinks kill only for amusement.
Hearing about the letter of the now 87-year-old Bargot, the Hungarian hunters also gave voice to their opinion on the matter. According to 24, the famous Hungarian actor Gulya Bodrogi, who happens to be a hunter and is the same age as the French animal rights activist, replied the following:
“Greetings, dear! I love your art, but no need to bother yourself with the protection of game, we will protect them and not just verbally! […] we are predators in the natural order, omnivores, and this must be accepted.”
He also added, that in Africa, where (professional) hunting was banned, the animals went extinct because of senseless killing.
Tamás Csejtei, the guitarist of Back II Back, who is also a hunter commented on the issue criticising the tone of Bardot’s and adding:
“The extremists are always the problem, the dark greens who think hunting is only about killing, but that is not true. If there were no hunting, the wild boar population would grow to one million in two years, one can imagine what the consequences of that would be.”
Fresh air, picturesque and tranquil landscapes, loyal dogs as companions, and 500 sheep – this is the place where the 32-year-old Lacika Német spends his days. But do not let this peaceful environment deceive you: he knows more about wolves and bears than many of us, and despite being far away from people, he never cut ties with society or social media as he shares his insights and stories on TikTok.
The shepherd started his unusual profession at the fragile age of 10. He and his little sister started “babsisitting” sheep to make some money, then this turned into a lifestyle for Lacika.
He went to a specialised school and studied tourism, but the simplicity of life close to nature was more appealing to him, writes Maszol. According to what he said, there is nothing more precious than the sunrise, which is so pure and sacred in the mountains that it often brings tears to his eyes, not to mention the fresh air and quiet that makes his thoughts fresh. This is a romanticised perspective on life, almost a modern-day myth of the man close to nature who is his own leader and lives in the tranquil freedom away from society. He gets caught up in his thoughts, or the animals around him make him laugh. Or… he uploads videos on his TikTok.
His life may seem like a nice vacation, but he has many responsibilities, and he may encounter many dangers, such as bear attacks and wolves lurking around.
A shepherd never reveals the exact number of animals, so he actually has “approximately 500” sheep to take care of. About 300 are his family’s property, and the rest of them are other people’s animals. If a sheep gets lost or gets killed by wild animals, the shepherd has to pay its price. If different herds mix, and they have to separate the sheep, Lacika is the person to help the situation. He knows his animals by looking at them.
As for wild animals, he has the wisdom of how to take care of himself. As he says it, bears are easy to notice, and they attack in a very noticeable manner: they break things, but they are also able to shatter people’s and dogs’ bones with just one hit. From a certain distance, the shepherd has a chance to survive, but if he is too close to the bear, the animal becomes angrier, and surviving the attack becomes impossible.
Wolves are different. They are less dangerous but trick the victims. These animals come in packs and work together to catch the sheep. One of the tactics is that one wolf catches the dogs’ attention, and while they run to the wolf, the rest of the pack attacks. Another way is to walk around the land and get the sheep while dogs are trying to catch the smell and find them. Wolves are timid animals, and they run away if the shepherd starts running towards them.
Lacika almost lost his life once when he was younger. It was thanks to his dogs that he survived because he fell on the ground and dogs attacked the wild animal. And having brave dogs is important. Muds are better for a shepherd’s companion than breeds, and if they are not fit for the task, Lacika gives the dog to someone else as a gift.
The shepherd seems to be happy with the simple life he chose. Even his significant other has to accept his “unusual” lifestyle. She has to accept him and the animals, and if she tried to corner him with the idea that she will only love him if he gives up on sheep, she has to know that this is never going to happen.
The shepherd of TikTok caught people’s attention very fast. He has 18,000 followers, and his most popular video was watched 400,000 times. Hello Magyar writes that the reason behind starting to upload videos on TikTok was to fight false beliefs and negative stereotypes about being a shepherd. His sister encourages him to do this. “Now we can look into the life of a clean, learned shepherd and see how good it is to be far from everything,” says the article on Hello Magyar, and it could not be more true. Lacika has solar panels, internet access, and supposedly he also listens to foreign music while probably having a perspective on life and an appreciation for the simplicity of it that many people could incorporate into their mindsets.
Toxicology and pathology tests by the national food safety authority (Nebih) have confirmed the poisoning of 114 predators, including 8 endangered species of birds of prey, from carbofuran, a highly toxic pesticide banned in the European Union, at the Tura hunting ground east of Budapest, Hungary’s bird and nature protection association (MME) said on Thursday.
MME said earlier in September that poisoned bait had been placed across almost the entire Tura hunting area of 8,000 hectares killing 93 birds of prey, as well as foxes, crows, dogs and cats.
Carbofuran, a small quantity of which can kill humans,
was banned in the EU in 2008. It is one of the most toxic compounds on the pesticide market, with between 3 to 19 milligrams enough to kill a mammal depending on body weight. In the case of birds, an even smaller amount can be lethal, MME said in a statement.
MME said the concentrations revealed by the tests have shocked professionals because the 6,000 milligrams per kilo found in a single bait and the close to 60 milligrams detected in a poisoned western marsh harrier have
far exceeded all previous cases of poisoning.
“The poisoned bait conservationists removed from the Tura hunting ground in the past weeks may have contained active ingredients enough to kill up to 158 people, destroy 158,000 western marsh harriers or poison the entire world population of eastern imperial eagles,” MME said, adding that a criminal investigation is under way by Gödöllő police.
The Hungarian Police’s Győr Department of the International Crime Division of the National Investigation Bureau of the Emergency Police (KR NNI) have detained and is currently prosecuting Gábor T. for well-founded suspicion of drug trafficking.
The suspect Gábor T. is a 41-year-old man who, according to the sources of the authorities, have been involved in drug trafficking since 2019. It is also said by Police.hu, that the 41-year-old man has been cooking the drug he was selling at his home. When the police arrived at his place of residence, he was trying to hide the evidence that he was cooking his own speed.
Police have found that Gábor T. have been sourcing the raw materials needed to produce speed from Western Europe. He purchased the amphetamine oil needed to be able to produce speed from foreign countries and has performed the cooking himself.
He used the amphetamine oil and enriched it with caffeine and other chemical ingredients to make his own speed-type drug in large quantities.
The police forces have cracked down on the 41-year-old Gábor T. during the early hours of the 22nd of September on the perpetrator’s own property. You can see the police forces gathering at his door in the video published by the Hungarian police.
The man clearly knew he was conducting illegal business and did not want to be caught as he had installed several home defence mechanisms, the authorities have reported.
Photo: police.hu
Photo: police.hu
Photo: police.hu
According to Telex, the man also had nine Staffordshire Terriers in his property to protect himself from the police or maybe presumably from the competition and his enemies. Despite his efforts to protect his home and the fact that his dogs have signalled the police forces, the perpetrator had no time to run.
The authorities found him in his yard trying to destroy the criminal evidence. He tried to pour out several litres of amphetamine oil near his dogs’ kennels and has thrown over his fence to the forested area next to the property. He was immediately arrested.
The police have found large amounts on ingredients in Gábor T.’s property among them 1.7 kilograms of white powder suspected to be drugs, 130 grams of green plant-based powder-like substance, 2 litres of methanol, 0.2 litres of sulfuric acid, 0.2 litres of amphetamine oil and 0.6 kilograms of sodium hydroxide.
Apart from the chemical laboratory’s worth of ingredients, the authorities also found 17,000 euros of cash.
Hunting has never faced such a challenge in history as in “our time”, when its legitimacy is being questioned; however, hunting is legitimate from the point of view of both man and nature, Zsolt Semjén said at the “One with Nature” World of Hunting and Nature Exhibition in Budapest on Sunday.
Speaking at the opening of the 67th general assembly of International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), the deputy prime minister said man’s passion for hunting, which goes back to ancient times, is a “defining part of human anthropology”.
Therefore, Semjén said, “we do not have to explain why we hunt, it is those who deny the heritage of their ancestors who need to explain why they view hunting and hunters with prejudice”.
Budapest World Hunting Expo
Photo: MTI/Mohai Balázs
Budapest World Hunting Expo
Photo: MTI/Mohai Balázs
Budapest World Hunting Expo
Photo: MTI/Mohai Balázs
Zoltán Kovács at Budapest World Hunting Expo
Photo: MTI/Illyés Tibor
Neither agriculture, forestry, nor real nature conservation can exist without sustainable hunting, which is also necessary for game management, he argued.
If these arguments are presented to society, Semjén said, there may be debates, but now is the moment to “move from defensive to offensive, because
if we do not do this now, our children and grandchildren will no longer be hunting”. And this, he said, would mean “the destruction of one of the great values and great traditions of mankind.”
The “One with Nature” World of Hunting and Nature Exhibition will be a large-scale event that is worthy of Hungary’s hunting culture, which originates from its eastern heritage, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said at the opening ceremony of the event in Budapest on Saturday.
The full range of the programmes on offer includes everything related to hunting from science through gastronomy and sports activities to arts, Semjén said.
In Hungary, there are 70,000 hunters, 700,000 anglers, and many thousands more sports shooters, archers, riders and people with hunting dogs so, including their families, about a quarter of the nation belong to this community, the deputy prime minister said.
Man has always hunted and today the diversity of nature, agriculture and wildlife can no longer be maintained without game management, Semjén said. If it is abandoned anywhere in the world, experience has shown that wildlife begins to perish, where, in turn, it is developed, wild game starts to thrive both in numbers and in quality.
According to the Bible, it is just as wrong to leave the environment to its fate as it is to exploit it, and just as a gardener takes care of the garden entrusted to him, the hunter takes care of the forest, the field, the game, he said.
In line with the principle of sustainability, all elements of the exhibition will be preserved and moved to a worthy place after the event, Semjén said.
Fifty exhibitors from more than one hundred countries will show at the event on a total of 75,000 square metres, which will be accompanied by six international conferences and meetings, Zoltán Kovács, government commissioner in charge of the hunting expo said on public news television channel M1.
The exhibition is expected to attract at least 1 million visitors until October 14.
The government considers environment protection a priority, also ensuring the growth of the economy in a sustainable way, Minister of Innovation and Technology László Palkovics said at the opening ceremony of the international hall of the exhibition on Saturday.
Palkovics said that innovation does not exclude environmental considerations as it gives an impetus to adaptation, which is required by the constant change of the world.
Hungary has found the answer to the latest challenges, as its economic performance exceeded pre-crisis levels already in the first half of this year while the global economy is estimated to reach that level only by the end of 2022, the minister added.
Philipp Harmer, Deputy President of the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), called the world hunting exhibition impressive. He praised the fact that the event presents hunting not in itself but as an important tool of nature conservation that contributes to the preservation of wildlife.
The Fertő-Hanság National Park is an unparalleled treasure of Hungary with its wetlands, the inland river delta, the special fauna of Lake Fertő, and the rare plants of the saline steppes.Together with the joint Austrian national park, Fertő-Hanság National Park is an area acknowledged by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) since 1991.
Legends and tales were told of a beautiful and mysterious land in the northwest corner of Hungary. Today, the unique world of water of Lake Fertő and the Hanság area is a joint protected natural treasure of Hungary and Austria. The total area of the Fertő-Hanság National Park is 23,731 hectares, and it is a transboundary property, located on the territory of both Hungary and Austria. It is situated in the cross-section of different geographical flora and fauna zones and wetlands; this diversity significantly shapes the image of the landscape. Characterised by sub-Alpine mountains, sub-Mediterranean hills, alkaline lakes, saline soils, reeds, and shoreline plains, Fertő/Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape is
“home to a rich diversity of flora and fauna and has been shaped harmoniously for eight millennia
by different human groups and ethnically diverse populations”. It also
incorporates the westernmost Eurasian steppe lake.
great egret
Photo: Ádám Tarr
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDhIZq2h8zR/
Due to its outstanding flora and fauna, the region of Lake Fertő has been a landscape protection area since 1977, writes fhnp.nemzetipark.gov. In 1979, the area was announced a Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO-MAB program, and in 1989, it was designated a wetland of international importance (Ramsar site). The international importance of the national park is further underlined by the fact that
the entire Fertő region, together with the Hungarian and Austrian national parks, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQCDaWtAqh3/
The area of Lake Fertő, the saline lakes of Fertőzug, and the surrounding wetland marshes and bogs are characterised by unparalleled biodiversity, including aquatic invertebrates, fish, amphibians, and birds. Several species of rare and protected plants can be found in this area, such as the lady’s-slipper orchid, the fly orchid, the spider orchid, and the dwarf iris. The region’s birdlife is also extremely rich, great egrets, terns, bitterns, spoonbills, ferruginous ducks, Eurasian teals, and red-crested pochards nest here.
The fish fauna and the amphibian and reptile populations of the lake are outstanding both on a Hungarian and on the international level.
Research over the last decades found 35 fish species in the lake, among which the European Weatherfish can be considered important from a conservationist’s point of view. The reedy marshlands are inhabited by tens of thousands of frogs, newts, and toads.
Dr Erik Fülöp, Independent Member of Parliament and President of the Hungarian National Animal Welfare Service, announced at today’s press conference that, based on international models, he would put a special organisation into operation in Hungary.The politician will not run in the 2022 elections to focus all his efforts on improving the state of animal protection in the country.
In the last few decades, there has been an increase in public concern regarding issues of animal welfare and animal protection. However, the efficacy of the law in the regulation and promotion of animal welfare is still questionable. Non-governmental organisations have been continuously trying to raise public awareness of the importance of preventing and penalising animal cruelty. Establishing an animal protection police can be a significant step in developing Hungary’s animal protection service to such a higher level.
In the spring of 2021, the National Animal Welfare Service Association conducted research to get a comprehensive picture of the people’s opinions on these matters and the vast majority − 99.3% − of the population agreed that cooperation between animal welfare organisations has to be increased. They also supported the idea of putting an animal protection police into operation. People agreed that substantial educational work is required too, writes magyarallatvedelem.hu.
The National Animal Welfare Service is not a law enforcement agency, but a unit belonging to the collective term “animal protection police”, which will start operating as a pilot project in Budapest and Pest County. The long-term goal is to achieve further expansion and complete national coverage,
Dr Erik Fülöp explained. The National Animal Welfare Service will perform a variety of complex tasks in Budapest and Pest County, such as participating in animal rescue operations, providing accommodation and care for rescued animals, conducting neutering actions to help control the population of stray animals, monitoring the welfare of animals living in the area and launching educational campaigns for both children and adults, Telex added. The politician drew attention to the fact that the organisation is independent of party politics. He himself does not want to expand his organisation at the national level.
For us Hungarians, folk tales were part of our childhood. They made the early years of more than one generation funny and happy.
Every country has their traditional folk tales. Some are more focused on the geography and the landscape, while others present animals and focus on their relationship with people. Our nation’s authentic stories and tales are dear to our hearts but discovering how other people were brought up and what tales coloured their childhood is an exciting experience.
Does it surprise you if we say that Hungarian folk tales are prevalent in several far-away corners of the world? These stories are all
part of a television series of eight seasons created between 1977 and 2011.
They are the most important production of Pannónia Filmstúdió’s studio in Kecskemét, highlights Helló Magyar.
The main aim to create this Hungaricum was to preserve the intellectual and spiritual treasure of Hungarian folklore for future generations, whose lives will centre around the modern gadgets of their times. They wanted to create an easily understandable depiction of their country’s history and culture. That is why the creators used original folk tales and not their adaptations.
When bringing to life the animated episodes, creators wanted to preserve the archaic beauty of the Hungarian language. Of course, they needed someone whose voice would stand out, that anyone would instantly recognise. That is how Gyula Szabó became the storytelling father of tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of children.
source: Youtube
Music, noises, and all sounds played had particular importance to give the complete experience. In almost all episodes,
not only the sweet melodies and songs, but even the tiniest noises were produced by a popular children band, Kaláka.
These features give the series a kind of modernity by building on the authentic Hungarian tales spread in the children’s bedrooms at bedtime and on the porches in the afternoon by the village elderly.
The typical characteristics of the landscape, where the story is happening, were central elements in the episodes, together with the traditional costumes of the people from different parts of Hungary. Painted cupboards, furniture, folk weaves, materials, and all background elements presented a specific region of the country.
The sweet and unmistakable theme song of the series was inspired by the first line of a well-known poem of one of Hungary’s most important poets, János Arany. The sentence refers to how these tales spread and stayed alive as time passed.
Hungarian folk tales have had quite an international career as they were screened in almost 40 countries.
Ferenc Mikulás, the mastermind behind the series and director of the studio, told növekedés.hu that starting from the 1980s, there was a considerable request for the tales from many countries. Not only from Europe but also from the United States, Asia, Australia, and even Africa.
Zimbabwe signed the first distribution contract in 1982.
Japan, New Zealand, and China followed. The latter even set a studio record with 48 contracts signed. Iran bought five seasons, while India obtained the rights for eight.
The series debuted 42 years ago in Denmark, where it is still very much loved. Nevertheless, South Korea is the absolute winner, as people are still, until today, able to watch the series on television, in the cinema and even on DVD.
Not surprisingly, the internet brought another breakthrough when the episodes were translated to English. Currently, the Hungarian folk tales were watched over 136 million times on the internet in 170 countries.
If you have not seen any of the lovely episodes, you need to catch up on YouTube, either in English or Hungarian.
Last week, 101 poisoned baits and the carcasses of 50 animals killed by poisoning – 96% protected bird – were found on the border of Tura. This case is the most severe intentional predatory poisoning crime of all time in Hungary, which could have caused a local ecological catastrophe if nature conservation organisations did not respond immediately.
Based on shreds of evidence, the perpetrators treated the baits with strong neurotoxins that were placed in huge numbers in the area. The neurotoxin has been found in the carcasses of 50 animals that died of poisoning, 96% of which were protected birds.
Both the method and the execution suggest that the perpetrators tried to completely eradicate predatory species from a large area on the border of Tura (Pest county).
Based on the fact that 96% of the victims were protected or highly protected bird species, the case is considered to be the most serious intentional predatory poisoning crime of all time in Hungary,
which could have caused a local ecological catastrophe if nature conservation organisations did not respond immediately.
As the Hungarian news portal HellóMagyar reports, the poisoned baits pose a threat not only to birds but any type of animals or even humans. Therefore, the Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Association (MME) requests that
anyone who detects suspicious cuts of meat, hen eggs or a large number of dead animals in the open air should not touch them in any way and notify the authorities immediately.
In addition to the carcasses of 44 protected duck hawks, two buzzards, two tree pipits, and two foxes, a poisoned Montagu’s Harrier was also found still alive on the crime scene. Thanks to rapid veterinary intervention, the bird’s condition has been stabilised, but it is still under treatment, and it is questionable whether it will fully recover.
Following a police scene, an investigation was launched against an unknown perpetrator.
The Association asks the public to notify the police immediately if they have information about the case.
A pair of imperial eagles nesting near the area have miraculously survived the poisoning. However, there is still a high risk that the birds will find a previously undiscovered poisoned bait or other animal killed by the poisoning.
Therefore, MME units, along with volunteers, have been working in recent days to remove poisoned baits and carcasses as quickly as possible in order to prevent further poisoning and imminent danger to life; and will continue to monitor the area continuously and thoroughly in the upcoming period.
A group of people arrived with two camels on Szabadság Square on August 11.
According to index.hu, whose reporters were at the demonstration, the organisers wanted to stand up against the wrong water management in Hungary. They would like to draw people’s attention to the
catastrophic consequences of the lack of proper measures in this issue.
They did not randomly choose camels. They said that Hungary would become a desert because of the lack of water. Therefore, Hungarian citizens will have to substitute their cars with camels. The protest was organised by three environmental protection NGOs, and there were approximately 60 people at the scene. Many of them spoke about the errors in Hungarian water management and how the lack of water is threatening the globe.
Some of them warned that
Hungary would become a desert.
They cited the example of Lake Velence, in the case of which 40 pc of the former water content evaporated, and many say that the second-biggest lake of Hungary is dying.
The demonstrators said they wanted to show a future when an animal of the desert would feel at home in Hungary because of climate change affecting the Carpathian Basin.
Therefore, they urged immediate measures in environmental protection and water management. Euronews.com said that the camel caravan looked very strange near the Hungarian Parliament. They also reported that some demonstrators highlighted that the Kiskunság on the Great Hungarian Plain is
already a semi-desert.
Even so, the government does not do anything to upgrade the country’s water management.
The main organiser of the event said that the water Hungary lacks equals the amount of water in two Lakes Balaton. Szubotáj Bagatur, the coordinator of the communication committee of the Green Guerilla Movement, added that trees will die out, and only the most resistant grass will remain if there is no change.
A Hungarian man killed a swan in Croatia by jumping off a yacht to entertain fellow passengers. Swans are protected species in Croatia.
Croatian news site ŠibenikIN reported on the case. About twenty people witnessed the death of the swan. The tragic event took place in Skradin, at 5 pm on Sunday. The man jumped on the swan from 6-7 meters high, and the animal was fatally injured. One of the witnesses called the police.
According to a witness, the man jumped right on the swan as if it was a joke. Children on the yacht were laughing, and a friend took footage of the event with a phone. The swan was fighting for its life for a few minutes after the incident, but unable to rise its head, the animal eventually died.
Some people on the yacht said that the swan is still alive, and it left. Other people, however, say that transporting a corpse with a boat can be seen on footage currently possessed by the police. Šime Pavić, a police spokesperson, told the Croatian news site that the prosecution is over.
A report was received at the Šibenik-Knin Police Station on August 8 at around 6 pm, and when officers went out to the field, they found out that a Hungarian citizen had jumped off an anchored boat and jumped on a swan. In the evening, a dead swan was found, and further investigations took place.
It was revealed that there was no intentional jump on the animal. No elements of a crime were identified, and the case is now officially deemed an accident.
Damages caused to protected animals by illegal activities result in fines. For damaging a swan (Cygnus olor), the perpetrator is fined a sum of 3600 kunas, while damaging a yellow-billed swan (Cygnus cygnus) results in a 9600 kuna penalty.
Although the incident shed a terrible light on the Hungarian tourist in the Croatian media, Hungary is a country where strict law and legislation is in place against cruelty to animals. It is forbidden to cause unjustified or avoidable pain, suffering or injury to an animal or damaging the animal in any way. The general public seriously judges cruelty against animals in Hungary, and the punishments match the crime.
In 2018 a child visited a Zoo and held a meerkat in his hands but threw the animal away when it bit him. The meerkat that was pregnant at the dime died in the incident. The event caused public uproar in Hungary, and the public severely criticised the child. The responsibility of the Zoo was also a hot topic at the time.
In 2019, Index wrote an article about a woman who killed a turtle at the Zoo with a stone. It can be seen in the footage that the woman took out the turtle from the runway and killed the animal after she noticed droppings on her hand. The turtle’s shield broke, and its organs were painfully damaged. The animal could not be saved – wrote Index. Breaking a turtle’s shield is very likely to lead to the animal’s death, as the shield has the same function as the spine and ribs for humans. Hermann’s tortoise, the species killed by the woman, is protected by EU Habitats Directive and four other international agreements, according to the European Environment Agency’s website. “ By destroying or damaging individuals of such animal species, a crime of natural damage may be committed, which is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment.” – wrote vasarnap.hu.
In 2020 Telex reported that a man was spending some time at a lake, and his son was feeding ducks when swans came for some food as well. The man, who consumed alcohol that day and got frustrated over the idea of not being able to bathe in the lake because of the birds, went to the animals and broke a swan’s neck. The prosecutor’s office asked the court to sentence the man to imprisonment for torturing the animal.
This year’s One with Nature World of Hunting and Nature Exhibition will be Hungary’s most complex international event to date, giving the country a fresh chance to showcase its skills in organising large-scale events, the government commissioner responsible for organising the world exhibition, Zoltán Kovács, said in an interview to the news portal Origo published on Wednesday.
Kovács, who is also the state secretary for international relations and communications, said the event provided an excellent opportunity to relaunch conference and international exhibition tourism in Hungary.
Asked why the hunting exhibition had been derided by the left wing, Kovács said the issue of hunting was being exploited by the opposition to create divisions in society and turn people against each other. Hungary’s 70,000 hunters come from all walks of life and subscribe to a wide range of political beliefs, and the event focuses on issues promoted by left-wing activists such as ecology and sustainability, he said, adding that politicising the event therefore made no sense.
As for its cost, the opposition’s charges that huge sums are being spent bear no scrutiny, he insisted.
The budget for four venues, HUNGEXPO, Hatvan, Keszthely and Vásárosnamény and a series of events spanning several weeks, together with the European Equestrian Championships, will amount to the originally planned 17 billion forints (EUR 48m). The HUNGEXPO grounds have undergone a 55 billion forint upgrade linked to the world exhibition and future events of similar size and quality, Kovács said. Moreover, there will be a return on the investment in the coming decades from rents and revenues, he added.
Fully 6 international conferences will be held during the 20 days of the world exhibition held from Sept. 25 to Oct. 14, he noted.
Fully 75,000sqm of HUNGEXPO’s space, including 8 exhibition halls, will be used. Exhibitions include the thousand-year history of Hungarian hunting as well as presentations on the wetlands of the Carpathian Basin and conservation organisations, he said.
Samples from the carcass of a boar found near Bicske, in central-west Hungary, have tested positive for the African swine fever virus (ASF), food safety authority Nébih reported on Tuesday.
The carcass was found near an area earlier declared as infected, and the virus is believed to have spread naturally among the boar population, Nebih said.
The authority noted that the virus was not harmful to humans, but pointed to the economic ramifications and warned swine farmers to fully observe rules of prevention.
Nébih also called on tourists not to leave food waste in the forests and to carefully wash their footwear after outings.
