Hunting Season in Zakynthos
Hunting season arrived on September 1, and now we wake every morning to the crash and bang of shotguns from the hillsides around us. On August 31, we saw a long line of sea birds flying south, following a fishing boat, and Dionysis remarked with pleasure that that was a good sign that hunting would soon start. True enough, he arrived late to open his Cantina the next morning dressed in his hunting camouflage regalia, having gone out at 4am, together, presumably with a large group of fellow-hunters, and it has been the same every morning since then.
Zakynthinians (and Greeks generally) are passionate hunters, they all own a shotgun (or two), and they talk endlessly about their hunting exploits. There are two seasons for hunting, in February/March, and September/October, timed to coincide with the passing of migrating birds, which get blasted out of the sky indiscriminately, no matter how small and inoffensive.
It is obscene, and it is noticeable, especially to a South African accustomed to being surrounded by birds at all times, how few birds there are in a heavily wooded island like Zakynthos. Not even seagulls on the beaches, or on the steep cliffs of the west coast. Dionysis' grandfather used to talk about hunting wild pigs and small deer in the countryside around Keri, in the south of the island, and I remember going to tavernas in Keri village which specialized in game dishes. But no more; in fact, Dionysis was totally unaware of this when I mentioned it to him, so they were exterminated and extinctified years ago. But the biannual migrations bring a plentiful supply of small birds within range, and they end up as pathetic rows of bedraggled creatures in people's refrigerators, before being plucked and cooked.
The corollary to the hunting culture, is that each hunter has a dog, usually a beautiful English Setter, which are in their element at this time, doing what they are genetically programmed to do, but sadly are shamefully neglected the rest of the year, many being chained or tied up with rope permanently, with no exercise whatsoever. It is one of the saddest things about this otherwise delightful country and people, their attitude towards, and treatment of animals. I suppose that hunting may be a legacy of the English stewardship of these islands from 1815 to 1864; it is a great pity they didn't leave behind their love of animals also!
12:26:35 PM 
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