Shooting Times & Country – 07 August 2019

ShootingTimes investigationprovesthatclaims aboutBritishhunters

goingonpuffin-shooting tripsarecompletelywithoutfoundation

C

laimsbycampaigners

thatUKhunters

arevisitingIceland

tohuntlarge

numbersofpuffinshavebeen

provedfalsebyaShooting

Timesinvestigation.Small-scale

puffinhuntingwithnetsisa

traditionalIcelandicactivity,

withroughly25,000ofthe

country’s8millionpuffins

nettedannually.

Huntingpuffinswithshotguns

is a relativelyrecentactivityandis

mainlyundertakenbyforeigners.

Puffinsarea traditionalIcelandic

foodandareeatenbyhuntersand

servedinrestaurants.

Claimsoflarge-scalepuffin

huntsbyBritishnationalswere

startedbyformerLeagueAgainst

CruelSportsheadEduardo

Goncalves.Theywerefirst

reportedintheDailyTelegraph

beforebeingpickedupbya

numberofnewspapersinboth

theUKandIceland.TheMirror

claimed that “British trophy

huntersareflockingtoIcelandto

shootupto 100 puffinsata time

beforebringingthecarcases

backhome.”

Thestorieswereillustrated

withphotographsofwhatwere

claimedtobeBritishhunters

withdeadpuffins.

Anti-shootingcampaigners

enthusiasticallytookupthestory,

spreadingit acrosssocialmedia

anddemandingapologiesfrom

shootingorganisations.

MrGoncalveswenton

tomaketheextraordinaryclaim

thatuncontrolledpuffinhunting

wasthecauseofthedecline in the

UKpuffinpopulation.

However,theclaims

rapidlybegantounravelwhen

investigatedbyShooting Times.

Wetracedtheoriginoftwo

photographsthatcampaigners

claimedshowedBritishhunters.

Theyweretakenfromthewebsite

ofa businesscalledtheIcelandic

HuntingClub.

A simplecheckofthecaptions

onthewebsitemadeit clearthe

huntersinthepictureswere

Maltese.Wewerethenableto

goontoestablishthatnone

ofthepicturesshowedBritish

hunters.BjörnBirgisson,founder

oftheIcelandicHuntingClub,

dismissedthestoryofBritish

hunterstakingpartinmasspuffin

huntsinIcelandas“nonsense”.

HetoldShootingTimesthat

thecompanyshootsabout

50 puffinsa yearandthat

there was “no uncontrolled

huntinginIceland”.Crucially,
inquiriesbyÁkiÁrmannJónsson,
directorofIcelandichunting
organisationSkotvis,established
thatnoneofthemandatory
licencesrequiredtohuntpuffins
hadbeenissuedtoBritish
nationalsthisyearorlast.
Thecorrespondence
betweenMrJónssonand
Iceland’sministryforthe
environmentwasviewedby
AndieFontaine,a journalistat
Icelandiconlinenewspaper
theReykjavikGrapevine,who
verifieditscontents.
MrJónssontoldShooting
Timesthelackoflicencesmeant
it wouldhavebeenimpossible
foranyUKhunterstotakepart
inpuffinhuntinginIceland.
Healsotoldusthatduring
his 15 yearsasdirectorofthe
IcelandicWildlifeManagement
Institute,hehadnotknownof
anyonetravellingfromtheUK
to shoot puffins inIceland.
R. FAULKS / D. GOULD / ALAMY Matt Cross

StoriesofBritishhunters

goingonpuffin-shooting

trips have proved false

“Asimplecheckofthewebsite

madeit clearthehunters in the

pictures were Maltese”

British puffin hunter stories

are blown out of the water

6 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

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EXCLUSIVEEXCLUSIVE