“It’s scary to imagine how many died!” Logging during nesting birds angers the friends of nature

In Pierīga, in Salaspils county, until recently, there was a private forest massif next to the neighborhood of private houses, where, as residents observed, birds nested every year. There was a great shock to the locals when a logging machine entered this forest this spring and cut down clearcuts. This was done during nesting of birds.

Yvette

worried resident

From April 1 to June 30, bird nesting and animal reproduction take place. Scary to imagine how many lives were lost! The forester should understand that this cannot be done! They are nesting there, maybe there are already eggs, little birds! Aren’t we human?! We live in a civilized country!

One of the local residents turned to the State Forest Service (VMD) with a complaint filled with confusion. Later, she received an answer, but, as she calls it, correspondence: the Ministry of Defense listed the regulatory acts, explaining that the private owner was allowed to cut down the forest. The interviewed residents believe that the supervisory authority does not delve into the essence of the problem – the destruction of bird habitats.

In order not to disturb animals during the breeding season from April 1 to June 30, the regulations state that it is prohibited to take care of up to 10-year-old pine and 20-year-old spruce stands in forests, with the exception of young stands of conifers, the average height of which does not exceed 0.7 m, young stands of deciduous trees – 1 m. It is also prohibited to cut down trees on lake islands, marsh islands, forest clumps, floodplains, and marsh protection zones. During bird nesting, chainsaws must not be used in towns and villages. Since the specific forest massif is located in a rural area and not in a city or village, the restrictions do not apply to it.

Ornithologist Jānis Ķuze expressed a critical opinion about Latvia’s legal environment, believing that it is “transparent and formal”. He also said that for a long time, friends of birds and nature have been trying to ensure that comprehensive peace is observed during nesting. As many as 10,000 signatures have been collected for the initiative, but the decision-makers responsible for the proposals did not listen. Every year, more than 50,000 bird nests are destroyed in the national forests due to logging alone, informs the Latvian Ornithological Society.

Our legislation in this regard is very transparent and formal. In other words, we have formally adopted the requirements of the European Bird Directive, which forbids deliberately destroying or damaging bird nests, we have formally adopted it in the Species and Habitat Protection Act, but this prohibition does not reach further into practice.

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