Various Hunting Traditions

Not all the hunters prefer the same game and not all hunt the same way. Of course, some prefer to "hunt" women, but to each his own. For example, in England roe deer and rabbits are not that much appreciated as game species, being left to the rangers, and nobody would think to shoot wild doves, which can become agriculture pests in a few years, the task being left to paid professional hunters. Instead, the "big 12" is the day of August 12, when the season opens to grouse, which is recognized as being extremely difficult to hunt. In France people hunt birds that in other countries are regarded just as singing birds: thrushes (25 million in 1983), lapwing, larks and blackbirds. All with real hunting guns.

In France and England, deer species and wild boar can be horseback hunted: there are hundreds of such crews, each having about 20 hounds and the same number of red coated riders. The prey is chased 'till it gets exhausted and then the "coup de grace" is applied with a long special dagger (this is how ethic requires) or more rarely with the carbine, the bowels being given to the dogs. There are also rabbit crews, smaller, pedestrian and with no parade coats.

In England, tradition asks that the fox be hunted only horseback and always with the dog pack; to kill a fox using a weapon is against the most elementary hunting rules, the hunter being excluded from that group. The lark is hunted in France using the mirror technique from over 200 years. A bird shaped object with small glossy multicolor glass pieces glued on it is placed in the field and removed, catching the attention of the birds during their migrations (October-November southward, January-February northward). The hunter does not hide, he just seats on a chair 20-25 m (70-90 ft) away. Larks are skewered and consumed back and belly. Turtle doves are hunted from the top of pylons. In the Gironde region (southwestern France) there are about 3,380 such pylons.

Woodcocks, an extremely appreciated game species (up to 1.5 millions are hunted annually in France), are never hunted at wait or chase, but only with a search dog. The dog has bells attached so that the hunter always knows where it is. Some use a small bell (grelot), others a large one (campane), resembling the ones around cow's neck: the woodcocks seem to be familiarized to this sound.

In the region of Ardennes, France, a traditional hunt, transmitted from father to son, is lapwing hunt using nets. In a swamp two flax nets are installed in a vertical "wait" position in front of one another. They have a length of 17.5 m (58 ft) and a height of 2.3 m (7.8 ft). The hunter stalks at a distance of about 75 m (250 ft) and with a thin steel wire he can fall down on the gathered lapwings the nets. The difficulty consists in attracting the lapwings. For this purpose, the hunters previously ransack the area with their feet, causing the exit of various worms, lapwing's preferred food, to the surface of the soil. Outside the nets are placed stuffed lapwings or living lapwings tied to one foot. Also the hunters imitate the lapwing's call "ki-viit" for attracting the birds. About 400 birds are captured annually.

In Spain, a favorite method is monteira: a large forest area is surrounded by about 100 hunters, spread along its border like in the case of rush: a lot of hunters accompanied by dogs enter the forest, making big noise and chasing away small and large prey. The hunt is counted in common.

The capture of the wild pigeons (wood pigeon and stock pigeon) with nets is practiced since the 13th century in the Pyrenees Mountains (southwestern France-northwestern Spain). Certain gorges are chosen through which in autumn the pigeon flocks cross the mountains on their way to the southern Iberia. The hunt lasts from the 1st 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 placed by an "ambusher" the moment the flock passes nearby. The pigeons are rapidly collected and the nets rise immediately in place; there are no gun fires, not to scare the following flocks.

The idea is to "convince" the flock to pass through that gorge. On the highest points of their route watch points are installed, from where other ambushers throw, screaming loudly, some "palettes" (similar in size and shape to 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 on the ground agitate and bang some white flags; this type of "hunt" requires a specialized team. The results of the hunt depend on the abundance of the flocks and the ability of the group. The average yearly number of this type of installations is about 15,000 birds, sold with 4.6 Euro per dead bird, and with 12 Euro per bird for those left alive.

Professional Australian hunters kill kangaroos for the pet food industry only at night using a powerful projector from the car and telescope guns, shooting exclusively in the head.

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