- The Spanish State Hunting Federations have called for a Sunday rally in 50 cities across the state to defend hunting as a “way of life.” The hunting associations of the Basque Country have joined the call and organized demonstrations on Sunday in San Sebastián and Bilbao. In response, the anti-speciesist group Askacá called for a demonstration in San Sebastián on Sunday afternoon to claim the right to life of animals.
Hunting in the Basque Country! The hunters opened for Sunday's demonstration. In San Sebastian you will leave from Easo Square at 12:00 noon and in Bilbao you will leave from Arriaga Square at the same time. They will denounce the “pressure” of the animal groups and demand respect for their performance. They will also claim the right to hunt in Ulia.
The Gipuzkoa Hunting Federation has opened the call to groups from all over the Basque Country, who have announced that they have organized 20 free buses for the moment. 90,000 people are licensed to hunt in the South Basque Country.
The organizers want to show “those who are protesting against them” that there are “thousands” who will go out to the street to “defend” the hunt: “In fact, ethical, sustainable and regulated hunting is the present and future of ecological balance and hunters are the first to care for and protect the environment.”
On Radio Euskadi, the representative of the Gipuzkoa Federation linked the defence of animal rights with citizenship, saying that citizens do not understand “the way of life, customs and hobbies of the villages”.
“We hunters need alternatives to our leisure in times when there is no possibility of hunting to continue making our hobby,” they proclaim from the hunting federations. In addition, they wanted to highlight their potential to prevent car accidents: “70% of the accidents caused by animals are caused by cinegetic species, which are allowed to hunt. Hunting is therefore an alternative to managing the populations of these animals and reducing car accidents.”
The anti-speciesist demonstration
On Sunday, the anti-speciesist group Askacá will start the anti-hunting demonstration from the Boulevard at 5 p.m. They will denounce that the “affection” that the hunters want to defend is only the pleasure caused by the killing of animals.