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EVENTS
FACE CELEBRATES ITS 45TH ANNIVERSARY IN BRUSSELS
The European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE) held its General Assembly on 25-27 October, 2022 in Brussels.
October 25th was a particularly momentous day for FACE, as it marked the 45th anniversary since they were established in 1977.
As a long time partner of the CIC, we extend our sincere congratulations to FACE for remaining committed to working in the interests of European hunters and wildlife during this period of time.
The CIC Director General, Tamás Marghescu (now CIC Ambassador), was in attendance in Brussels to take part in the deliberations, and to present a special gold CIC plaquette to honour FACE on their achievement.
The General Assembly served as an opportunity for the heads of Europe’s hunting associations and organisations to gather and explore the prevailing issues relevant to the wider world of conservation and sustainable use.
FACE’s European Hunters’ Campaign (#SignForHunting) was one of the topics of discussion. Since the campaign was first launched several months ago, FACE have collected some 200,000 signatures towards building a better mechanism for hunting discourse in Brussels. If you have yet to register your support, you can do so here.
The adoption of the FACE Strategy for 2027 was another significant issue at the General Assembly, with FACE committing to creating a Europe rich in biodiversity and hunting opportunities for the years to come.
The event was rounded off with a discussion in European Parliament on sustainable hunting and conservation best practices, which was hosted by MEP Alex Agius Saliba.
In parallel with FACE’s General Assembly, the CIC delegation in attendance took the time to meet with representatives of the European Commission’s Directorate-Generals for International Partnerships and Environment, where the possibility of forthcoming opportunities for collaboration was explored.
In addition, a visit was paid to the European Forestry House, in which talks were held with the head of EUSTAFOR (European State Forest Association); it is expected that further discussions will take place to elaborate on common interests such as alliances of cooperation.
Once again, the CIC congratulates FACE on 45 wonderful years, and wishes them continued success going forwards.
EVENTS
THE CIC SUPPORTS FACE’S #SIGNFORHUNTING CAMPAIGN!
Calling all hunters and supporters of sustainable use – the CIC invites you to support FACE’s #SignForHunting campaign!
In recent years, Brussels has been the source of numerous problems for hunters and wildlife conservation. In many cases, these issues are often not founded in facts or science.
The #SignForHunting campaign is a call to all hunters wishing for a more balanced approach towards hunting within the EU.
The European-wide initiative provides a platform for hunters to call on EU institutions to work with FACE on the future of hunting and conservation. The website also contains additional information on the campaign, including a 9-point petition that demands change in key topics related to hunting and conservation.
For a brief overview, we invite you to watch this introductory video on the #SignForHunting campaign.
The goal? For European biodiversity policies to deliver for nature conservation while recognising the many benefits associated with regulated, sustainable hunting activities.
As a long-standing partner of FACE, the CIC is in full support of this campaign and its efforts to bring biodiversity supporting sustainable use activities back to the table.
How can you support the campaign? Simply go to the official website and register your email address.
EVENTS
The CIC joined in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Ladies Hunting Club in Serbia earlier this year.
The Ladies Hunting Club – or Damski Lovački Klub – works to improve and develop women’s rights through its activities engaging in hunting traditions and culture, as well as biodiversity conservation.
To commemorate the occasion, an event was held on 17 September in Tara National Park, Serbia.
Director General of the CIC, Tamás Marghescu (now CIC Ambassador), was in attendance to honour the organisation, which has been a member of the CIC since 2013.
The celebration was attended by delegations of women hunters’ clubs from Bulgaria, Slovenia, Serbia, Hungary and Croatia. The presidents of the regional hunting associations of central and western Serbia, representatives of Tara National and local authorities were also present at a gala dinner which took place in the evening.
As part of the evening festivities, the CIC Director General gave a laudatio and presented – on behalf of Dr. Philipp Harmer, President of the CIC – a commemorative plaquette to the President of the Ladies Hunting Club, Sanja Momčilović Bognič.
In his speech, the lady hunters of Serbia were encouraged to take the lead in assisting the CIC in its communications to the public.
The CIC wishes the Lady Hunters Club continued success in the years to come, and welcomes further collaboration with them going forward.
EVENTS
CZECH EU PRESIDENCY HOSTS EU HUNTING DIRECTORS MEETING
The annual Meeting of EU Hunting Director Generals took place from 19-21 October, and was hosted by the Czech EU Presidency in Prague.
The informal meeting of the 27 EU game management directors has been a tradition since 2011, with the aim of addressing pertinent issues relating to hunting and game conservation at the European level.
Among those in attendance were representatives of the relevant EU Ministries and government bodies responsible for game management issues, as well as directors of organisations and entities working in the sector, such as the CIC and FACE. On the agenda of this year’s meeting were a number of prevailing issues, such as the EU Nature Restoration Law, African swine fever, management approaches to large carnivores, and the ban on lead in ammunition.
In addition, the meeting served as an opportunity to discuss one of the CIC’s ongoing projects, with regard to establishing a Sustainable Use Database to further consolidate wildlife data for an improved and timely understanding of what the hunting sector contributes to conservation and society.
We are also pleased to announce that the CIC and the Czech EU Presidency were awarded a special prize by the Slovak Hunting Chamber to celebrate the occasion of 100 years of organised hunting in the Slovak Republic.
The prize was presented by Tibor Lebocký, President of the Slovak Hunting Chamber, Dr. Imrich Šuba, Secretary General of the Slovak Hunting Chamber, and Ing. Tibor Jančok, General Director for Forestry and Hunting in the Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic. Director General of the CIC, Tamás Marghescu (now CIC Ambassador), received the prize on behalf of the CIC.
SAINT HUBERTUS DAYS FESTIVAL IN SLOVAKIA
The first weekend of September marked the 30th anniversary of the Saint Hubertus Days Festival, an event which was hosted on the iconic grounds of the Museum of St. Anton in Svätý Anton, Slovakia.
The festival was a celebration of hunting and the hunting community, bringing together over 7,000 guests from different ages and backgrounds sharing a common passion. President of the CIC Artemis Working Group, Soňa Chovanová Supekov, was in attendance together with her colleagues from the Club of Slovak Ladies Hunters.
As part of the festivities, a CIC booth was set up for visitors, where people could learn more about the work of the organisation.
The CIC World Game Cookbook, a collection
of 207 game meat recipes from 66 different countries and regions, was a particular highlight, as the Slovakian version was recently launched to the public as the first non-English edition of the book.
In addition – as part of the CIC’s commitment to engaging young people on sustainable use issues – a youth education zone was set up for the children in attendance.
The area was dedicated to teaching kids about the practice of hunting, along with all its cultural elements.
For more on the event, we welcome you to look through the selection of photos taken at the festival.
EVENTS
1,300 CIC EVALUATED TROPHIES AND THE SLOVAKIAN EDITION OF THE CIC WORLD GAME COOKBOOK: 2022 SLOVAKIAN NATIONAL HUNTING EXHIBITION
The 2022 Slovakian National Hunting Exhibition opened its doors on August 18th in Nitra, Slovakia.
The National Hunting Exhibition, organised under the theme Hunting and Nature, takes place every five years, honouring and bringing together the world’s leading practitioners working in the sustainable use and hunting sector. This year, it was hosted within the framework of the Agrokomplex international agriculture and food exhibition.
The National Hunting Exhibition was co-organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic, and the Slovak Hunting Chamber. The Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic and the CIC were patrons of the exhibition.
Bringing the international voices of hunters to the floor of the exhibition hall were the hunting associations of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Vojvodina, all of whom were in attendance at the event.
CIC Director General, Tamás Marghescu (now CIC Ambassador), was invited to speak at the Opening Ceremony of the National Hunting Exhibition. In his speech, he thanked the organisers for asking the CIC to be patrons of the event, and congratulated them for bringing together the hunting community after a year delay caused by the pandemic.
He went on to emphasise how hunters are continuing to deliver environmental and economic benefits to wider society. He also stressed that the Slovak Hunting Chamber was a well functioning institution that should continue to operate as it has been successfully doing in the past years. As part of the exhibit, 1,300 trophies were on display for attendees, many of which were recipients of the CIC Gold Medal.
We are proud to announce that every trophy on display was measured using the CIC Trophy Evaluation System, an exercise that was carried out by a few of our dedicated CIC Senior Trophy Judges (STJs) in the month leading up to the exhibition.
In another piece of exciting news, the National Hunting Exhibition marked the launch of the Slovakian version of the CIC World Game Cookbook!
President of the Artemis Working Group of the CIC and author of the cookbook, Soňa Chovanová Supeková, was in attendance as part of the book launch.
The book was debuted to attendees as part of a presentation hosted by the Artemis President, the CIC Director General and H.E Ivan Gašparovič, the former President of the Slovak Republic. 29
