14 DAY TRIAL // The capture of the wild pigeons (wood pigeon and stock pigeon) with nets is a method practiced even today in the Pyrenees Mountains (southwestern France-northwestern Spain), since the XIIIth century.
For this purpose certain gorges are chosen, few in number, through which, during the autumn, the pigeon flocks pass in their migratory flight to the southern Iberia.
The hunt lasts from the first of October till the 15th of November, the peak period being 15-25 of October.
The nets, 15 m (45 feet) tall, are installed in vertical position, in the narrowest point of the gorge, being handled with dexterity by an "ambusher" the moment when the flock passes nearby. The pigeons are rapidly collected and the nets rise immediately on place; there are no gun fires, so as not to scare the following flocks.
The great "art" is to "convince" the flock to pass through that gorge.
For this, on the highest points of their route, watch points are installed, from where other ambushers throw, screaming loudly, some "palettes" (of the same size and shape of a table tennis) over the flock, to modify its flight direction, imitating somehow the attack of a hawk; also, in order to direct the flock, other ambushers, placed on the ground, agitate and bang some white flags; thus, this type of "hunt" supposes the existence of a specialized collective.
The results of the hunt vary from one year to another, depending on the abundance of the flocks and the ability of the group of "hunters". The average yearly number of this type of installations is about 15,000 birds, sold with 4.6 Euro the dead birds, and with 12 Euro those left alive.
Are these mayhems justified in our days?...