In the summer of 2020, the St Mamas lagoon in Chalkidiki, Greece became the first Greek ecosystem where flamingos were spotted mating. Local volunteers counted up to 180 nests during mating season and estimated that the lagoon would welcome around 120-140 baby flamingos come summer. This development was particularly exciting for the country’s conservation movement: while these iconic pink birds are designated species of least concern, they only appeared in Greece some thirty years ago, and had previously been known to migrate to other Mediterranean countries during mating season. Efforts to allow flamingos to mate in wetlands across the country had been met with failure, despite the local institutions’ better efforts.

The nests were originally spotted by members of Action for Wildlife, a local NGO. The discovery was initially kept secret for two reasons. First, despite being a social species, flamingos prefer to live in isolation from humans. Second, the St Mamas lagoon is an extremely delicate ecosystem and is protected under the EU’s Natura 2000 scheme. News of a newly discovered flamingo habitat would be sure to attract tourists – either in person or through drones – and potentially scare away the birds or otherwise damage the reserve. Local governance needed time to observe the flamingo colony and mete out regulations tailored around its protection. Nevertheless, the existence of a reproductive flamingo habitat in Greece, especially within a protected ecosystem, was reason enough to celebrate.

Unfortunately, these celebrations were premature. A few days ago, the Authority for the Management of the Thermaic Gulf Conservation Areas posted a gut-wrenching report detailing the repeated discovery of dead or diseased flamingos in the vicinity of the St Mamas lagoon. According to the report, the Authority recovered up to thirty deceased birds, which their investigation revealed had been invariably killed by lead poisoning. After obtaining X-rays from multiple bird specimens, it was concluded that the flamingos had ingested lead-rich buckshot from hunting rifles and died shortly thereafter.

This is a common phenomenon: birds like flamingos, swans, and geese mistake gun pellets for pebbles, which they habitually ingest to aid with digestion. The European Chemicals Agency estimates that this is responsible for the death of over a million birds every year. That is why hunting with lead pellets in wetland ecosystems is forbidden by law. In Greece, this has been the case since 2013.

A representative of the Hellenic Ornithological Society called this development disheartening, and with good reason. Hardly six months had passed before an unprecedent ornithological success was ruined by unregulated hunting activity. This incident, albeit deeply regrettable, is an excellent segway into further discussing the waste hunting produces, as well as the striking level of tolerance some modern states have maintained towards independent hunters. In Greece, which has acquired notoriety over the strictness of its lockdown since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, hunters have been periodically exempt from lockdown restrictions; and when they aren’t, they have been reported casually breaking quarantine to hunt.

However, the clash between hunters and conservationists dates back decades, long before the coronavirus crisis. The former argue that hunting contributes to the economy and regulates ecosystems that were already unbalanced; the latter use scientific data to showcase the ills of unregulated hunting. The dangers of hunting waste extend beyond its association with lead poisoning. For instance, discarding parts of an animal’s body improperly can favor the transmission of infectious diseases, most notably tuberculosis, which many animals are susceptible to.

There are proven ecological hazards to uncontrolled hunting, much like regulated hunting comes with its own set of benefits. In the end, it all comes down to what the current legal landscape looks like for hunters, and how effectively those laws are being enforced. It’s also a matter of education, science communication, and community action. Hunting is often a tradition passed down from parent to child; to an extent, it bears cultural significance. However, unless we develop a shared culture of respect for environmental regulations, it can spell doom for fragile ecosystems, and preventing that requires the effort of the state, local governance, and individual hunters.