Job Offer valid today for all interested parties: «They are looking for three laborers to hunt rabbits full time in the Teide National Park». This is how the announcement of the service company Tragsa is publicized, with the Cabildo entrusted to the protected natural area to hire three hunters – something that is specified in parentheses – with the aim of controlling the population of these herbivores in the emblematic environment of the highest mountain in state. The Park Management Office assures that “it is a common procedure in hunting control processes.”
The three hunters who take over the place, according to the announcement, which is in force, will receive their salary in a full-time shift, from Monday to Sunday, and in eight-hour shifts. This is specified by the Hunting Club specialized portal that reproduces the announcement of the tender of the company Tragsa.
Functions.
The professional functions designated for the job are various. In the first place, it is about the elimination of the rabbit in some places of the Teide National Park that, due to their difficult access and remoteness to reach them, are not within the scope of the control campaigns. These are areas such as the eastern wall of Las Cañadas, the surroundings of La Rambleta, Pico Viejo, Guajara and, in general, all those high points or where it is difficult to reach. “If things get complicated, it is evident that it is the hunter who will know how to function and that is how the company and the island government understand it”, assesses the specialized magazine. In order to access the position, certain requirements have been classified as essential. It will be necessary to have B driving licenses and type E weapons, be in possession of a shotgun, as well as at least one dog and two ferrets. Experience in this type of activity will also be valued, in addition to that previously obtained in environmental actions in the Teide National Park. On the other hand, you must be 18 years old and not be disqualified from performing public functions or separated by disciplinary proceedings from any of the public administrations in the last six years.
Standard procedure.
Sources from the Teide National Park management office have indicated that “this procedure is common in hunting control processes that are applied in the park.” They add that, in this specific case, “they are due to a multi-year order with the public company Tragsa.” They also clarify that “it is a management that is carried out as a complement to the days enabled for current hunting control, on Thursdays and Sundays.” Likewise, “the work attends to specific traffic conditions located in certain protection areas such as fences for the safeguarding of native flora, or areas of difficult access.”
The scientific vision.
The University of La Laguna has recently held the course New perspectives for the management of species of flora and habitats in the Canary Islands. Among the most relevant conclusions, it has been shown that the habitats on the islands, even in protected natural areas, are in an unfavorable state to face the current climate change situation. The presence of invasive introduced herbivores such as rabbits, goats and sheep that roam uncontrollably in these spaces, rats, mouflon, and ravioli, currently represent the greatest threat to the conservation of endemic flora and habitats in the Archipelago.. He values the experts’ report that «this problem, maintained since these invasive species were introduced, far from being resolved, it has become more acute over the years, increasing as endemic plant species have disappeared or have taken refuge in the most inaccessible escarpments ».
Eradicate.
Invasive herbivores in the Canary Islands, the study points out, “must be eradicated or controlled, if the former is not possible.” It is one of the conclusions of the course held at the ULL. “It is technically feasible and urgent to eradicate the mouflon and the ruff,” he says. As for feral cattle, “it must be eliminated and there must be strict control of illegal livestock activity by the competent administrations” because, in addition, “it can pose a public health and safety problem.” Finally, “the drafting of the necessary regulations for the control of the European rabbit should be promoted, in order to minimize its effect on the Canarian flora and on the ecosystems as a whole”.
