Blackbirds In Portugal Are Once Again “Under Fire”

I have lived in portugal for 16 years, and i was shocked the first time i saw someone down my forest track who had been shooting birds. Not only did they have blackbirds but woodpeckers too. Sadly, after all the years i have been here and the things i’ve seen, i am no longer shocked, i am disgusted, horrified and saddened. The way people treat their ‘pets’ is disgusting, kicking and whipping dogs, goats etc, its no wonder that wildlife has the blunt end of the stick when it comes to hunting

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Hi Piglet,
I hope you didn’t feel upset with my comments, but I felt I should give you a different view.
I agree with everything that you have said in your last comment. It’s true; there are people in Portugal living in poverty, as there are people living very, very well. Actually a major problem in my country is the gap between rich and poor, which is getting larger and larger. So, don’t understand me in the wrong way, I am not denying poverty in Portugal. What I meant is that the image of having people going to hunt because otherwise they will starve is not correct.
However, everything is relative and you need to be aware of that. Portuguese people like to complaint, is something deep in our culture. By some reason we have the “Fado” and you have rock music.
So, let’s see if I can give an image closer to the reality.
Farmers (small producers), people working in the fields, factories etc… The salaries are very low; most of them should be getting something around the minimum wage, something around 450 euros/month, times 14, since in Portugal everybody receives 14 salaries. To these ones you have to add up all the pensioners receiving the minimum pension, around 275 euros/month.
So if you compare them with people in the UK, France Spain etc…they are very poor indeed.
Let’s now move a bit up, for those that have some skills and can work, self employed, small builders, plumbers etc…This ones are obviously dependent on the amount of work they can get, but in normal conditions they can do quite well, not to be considered rich or going in holidays to Florida etc..but you can expect them to get at least, 2000 euros/month after taxes ( and this is the lowest figure, I have). Again for those working has employees, the figures are much lower, again something between 600 and 1300 euros/month is to expect.
Then you have a large group of people, mainly young people, with university degrees, which are getting a lot of trouble to get a job in Portugal. A lot of them are working without a proper contract (recibos verdes), and even when they get one, the salaries range from 600 euros to 1000/1500 euros. These are the ones that are trying to emigrate, since they expect to get much better jobs (higher salaries, working contract etc) in other countries. Which they will soon discover is not completely true. For this I can give my personal example, I have worked in both countries, and believe me never felt I was richer in the UK than I was in Portugal, furthermore my salary has in fact decreased when I came to the UK.
Moving now to those with a proper job (I mean working already for some years) and having a degree or a lot of professional experience. Teachers, for example, which are traditionally not well paid in a lot of countries. The salary of a secondary school teacher goes from 1100 euros/month (probationary period) to 2900 euros/month at the end of the payscale. This before taxes, and again times 14.
Lawyers (not the young ones), doctors etc..For these expect salaries well above the 4000 euros/month.
University teachers, the lowest salary starts around 3000 euros/month (before taxes) and x14.
Other professionals, it varies a lot but something between 1500 and 4000 is common.
Above this you can expect everything. For example the president of TAP gets something like 625000 euros/year, the director of CGD gets something like 560000 euro/year etc.

So, the problem in Portugal is for those unfortunate ones, which might lose their jobs, Contrary to what happens in other European countries, benefits and measures in place to help these people are very weak, and those will suffer the most.
Sorry for the long comment, I hope it helps in some way.

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Dear Piglet,

“…As for eating them I doubt very much if they could most the Trudus genra
Blackbird – Redwing – Fieldfare – Missal Thrush – Song Thrush
Only weigh 80 -125 grams (3-4.5 oz).
When hit by lead shoot they would possibly be shredded, what’s left to eat?
The Starling is even lighter 75-90 grams (3-3.5oz)…”

sorry Piglet, but the above is completly wrong….

While I am not a bird hunter, I do eat small birds occasionaly. In Portugal we use to eat this dish as a “petisco” from time to time, and I can assure you it’s very good. However, I agree with you that hunting these small birds, as any other animal, should be done with care for maintain the species, and this has been taken into account., that’s why hunting of these small birds has been forbiden for a long time.

By the way, you migth consider to include the French in to this campaign. They also do eat small birds, an dthey are not poor, at least by the Uk standards…I guess.

“…The ortolan is one of the dishes of French country cuisine. It is now against the law to sell them in France, but not to eat them.
For centuries, a rite of passage for French gourmets has been the eating of the Ortolan. These tiny birds—captured alive, force-fed, then drowned in Armagnac—were roasted whole and eaten that way, bones and all, while the diner draped his head with a linen napkin to preserve the precious aromas and, some believe, to hide from God…”
(in the wine spectator).

Piglet, I have notice that you tend to justify some things in Portugal with the country’s poverty, saying things like ” …Portugal is a poor country..and yes they do hunt for food rather than starve.”.
Portugal is not a rich country, this is for sure, the average salary is lower than in the uk for example, and social benefits are much lower. However, and fortunately the image of Portugal that sometimes you give is not real, and I am starting to suspect is more based in prejudice than in real knowledge of the country, possibly because you live in a small rural village.
We do have cases of people living in extreme poverty, this is true for sure, but you also have that in the UK, and other countries, and nobody uses that to explain some behaviours found in english people for example.

Best of luck

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