12 - Conclusion

Summary

An important aspect of the CRIMEANTHROP (Criminal Justice, Wildlife Conservation and Animal Rights in the Anthropocene) project was to assess to which degree freeborn animals have rights that are reflected in the implementation of two important conventions, or as consequence of the two conventions. Both were established to protect wildlife species from extinction: CITES, The Convention of Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973) and the Council of Europe's Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (1979), known as the Bern Convention. It is important to emphasize that the goal with these conventions is not to offer individual freeborn animals protection from harm and abuse, not even to individuals pertaining to species that are protected because they are endangered. Generally, although they may be included in animal welfare legislation, wildlife is not protected from harm, on the contrary they are hunted for entertainment in countries that are parties/members of these conventions.

In the countries that are included in the case studies of this book, there are thus hunting traditions, for example, the infamous fox hunting of the upper class in the UK from horseback with the use of dogs; the rabbit hunting in Spain with the use of greyhounds (galgo), who are very often mistreated and killed when the hunt is over; the wild boar hunting in Germany and Poland, and the widespread practice of catching and killing songbirds in Italy and around the Mediterranean sea for food or decorations, which is criminalized due to the devastating effects this practice has had on the bird populations (see Chapter 5 by Lorenzo Natali, Ciro Troiano, Sara Zoja and Anita Lavorgna, this volume; Brochet et al 2016). The threat to Europe's birds due to loss of habitat and legal and illegal hunting led to the establishment of the EU Birds Directive in 1979,1 which together with the Habitats Directive implements the Bern Convention in the EU.

In Norway, like in many other countries, most species that are not threatened with extinction are ‘huntable species’, for example in the hunting season 2022– 23, according to Statistics Norway, 49,301 deer and 27,487 elks were legally killed, while 21,030 red foxes lost their lives to a hunter's rifle in the 2021– 22 season, many after first being trapped.