Legals requirement to remove bird feeders in Costa Rica ????? (1 Viewer)

[Tony Knight]

Hi all. I've read that the CR Govt has decide that "feeding wild animals isn't eco friendly" and that the implication is that lodges, restaurants etc should remove all hummingbird feeders and fruit feeders with immediate effect ? I'm planning to visit in Feb and much of the detailed itinerary is based around visiting locations with feeders so this could potentially ruin my trip !! Has anyone seen this actually followed up ?

 

[birdboybowley]

Christ I bloody hope not....and if true that no other country follows suit 😬 that'd destroy neotropical birding trips for sure

 

[KC Foggin]

Apparently they are not birders in any way.

 

[leonardo_simon]

Interesting- I only recently read a newspaper article suggesting that feeding wild birds may disadvantage less dominant species. Such that more aggressive species such as blue tits can then multiply more, further endangering birds such as pied flycatchers. The article suggested we should rethink garden feeding.

Lots on internet about bird feeders helping spread disease

So maybe, from the birds point of view the Costa Rica government has a point.

 

[Tony Knight]

Bird Feeder Ban

Popular hummingbird gardens and ecolodge's fruit stand bird feeders are being shut down due to Costa Rica's recent ban on all feeding of wild animals.

costa-rica-guide.com

 

[Andy Adcock]

Hi all. I've read that the CR Govt has decide that "feeding wild animals isn't eco friendly" and that the implication is that lodges, restaurants etc should remove all hummingbird feeders and fruit feeders with immediate effect ? I'm planning to visit in Feb and much of the detailed itinerary is based around visiting locations with feeders so this could potentially ruin my trip !! Has anyone seen this actually followed up ?

This has been mentioned before, quite some time ago so I'm sure it's true but whether it's actioned and enforced is another question.

If it leads to the planting of masses of wild flowers to attract hummers such as those at El Tapir, that would be something good to come from it but it wouldn't be possible at many places.

I think that from an aesthetic perspective, shots such as the one I attach which is from El Tapir, are much better when they don't have a feeder front and centre?

 

[Tony Knight]

This has been mentioned before, quite some time ago so I'm sure it's true but whether it's actioned and enforced is another question.

Yes, hence my last question. The article I've copied suggests lodges have been told to remove or face charges but I'm interested to know whether all/any have. For many of these lodges their feeders are a main attraction. If you're competing with lodges up the road for custom and they haven't removed theirs, I'm sure many lodge owners will turn a blind eye and maybe even return feeders a week or two after being "caught" and threatened with action if they don't remove. I saw a comment on tripadvisor about one lodge that was poorer as a result of removing it's feeders, before I was aware of the ban. Would be interested to know what birders have seen in CR in the last year or so.

 

[leonardo_simon]

Interesting thread. Surely the welfare of the birds and the ecosystem has to prioritise over what tourists want? And in that respect perhaps the Costa Rica government is on the right track ??

Makes me wonder how far off a reliance on feeding to support a tourist industry is from some of the practices discussed in the thread below?

Negative consequences of Bird Photography in Asia

A pretty interesting article someone posted on facebook. I've heard comparable things said about other nature photographers in India and Japan. I'd like to think that most of us posting here do try to put the birds well-being ahead of our enjoyment of our "hobby", but it's a bit shocking to see...

www.birdforum.net

 

[birdboybowley]

Problem is, no tourists, no money....so the land ends up becoming something else to make money which usually means housing/farming etc and habitat is gone. What would happen to Angel Paz in Ecuador if the feeding stations were ruled 'illegal'....the forest would now be farmland

 

[Tony Knight]

Problem is, no tourists, no money....so the land ends up becoming something else to make money which usually means housing/farming etc and habitat is gone. What would happen to Angel Paz in Ecuador if the feeding stations were ruled 'illegal'....the forest would now be farmland

Yes and that's a real special place - would be a tragedy if they were forced to throw the towel in due to something like this. There's got to be a balance. A dozen lodges in a region feeding birds can't be doing too much damage to the eco system of a huge area and the benefits for the locals and ultimately the reserves and wildlife must be huge.

 

[Mono]

The underlying law has been in place for years, 1992 I think amended in 2008, and simply states (Microsoft translation)
Article 116.-A fine of fifteen percent (15%) up to thirty percent (30%) of one (1) base salary shall be punished if, without authorization from the National System of Conservation Areas, supplies food or unauthorized substances to wildlife.

The recent publicity seems to have come from a panicky scare story from the eco-tourism sector. Akin to the panic scare of a few years ago in the UK when everyone was suddenly "banned" from going up ladders.

 

[Mysticete]

Well...the article references 2019, so seems a bit out of date. Although with COVID in effect it could also just have gone relatively unnoticed with tourism reduced. Anyone been there since 2019?

 

[DMW]

Interesting thread. Surely the welfare of the birds and the ecosystem has to prioritise over what tourists want? And in that respect perhaps the Costa Rica government is on the right track ??

Makes me wonder how far off a reliance on feeding to support a tourist industry is from some of the practices discussed in the thread below?

Negative consequences of Bird Photography in Asia

A pretty interesting article someone posted on facebook. I've heard comparable things said about other nature photographers in India and Japan. I'd like to think that most of us posting here do try to put the birds well-being ahead of our enjoyment of our "hobby", but it's a bit shocking to see...

www.birdforum.net

There isn't even a superficial resemblance between the issues discussed in the thread you linked, and the sort of bird feeding that takes place at lodges in the Neotropics. Trimming vegetation away from an active nest is not remotely comparable to putting out a few bananas and hanging some hummer feeders in the garden.
As other posters have noted, there is often a very direct link between funds generated through feeders and preservation of forest and wildlife. To give another example, poachers who established artificial waterholes in Kaeng Krachen NP in Thailand were persuaded to put up photography blinds and charge for their use, and stop trapping birds and mammals visiting the waterholes. If this was banned, the owners would likely return to poaching.

 

[Andy Adcock]

There isn't even a superficial resemblance between the issues discussed in the thread you linked, and the sort of bird feeding that takes place at lodges in the Neotropics. Trimming vegetation away from an active nest is not remotely comparable to putting out a few bananas and hanging some hummer feeders in the garden.
As other posters have noted, there is often a very direct link between funds generated through feeders and preservation of forest and wildlife. To give another example, poachers who established artificial waterholes in Kaeng Krachen NP in Thailand were persuaded to put up photography blinds and charge for their use, and stop trapping birds and mammals visiting the waterholes. If this was banned, the owners would likely return to poaching.

I can't claim an extensive knowledge of all sites in CR but the only one I can think of that would lose out on the basis that feeders are their main attraction is the Cinchona Cafe. Most other sites I recall that have feeders, are places that you'd go anyway, the feeders are just a bonus unless we're talking accommodations?

 

[Tony Knight]

I can't claim an extensive knowledge of all sites in CR but the only one I can think of that would lose out on the basis that feeders are their main attraction is the Cinchona Cafe. Most other sites I recall that have feeders, are places that you'd go anyway, the feeders are just a bonus unless we're talking accommodations?

For me and I'm sure many others, a quality bird feeding set up is a major attraction. Our choice of accommodation in each region, and stops en route, are both heavily influenced by the chance to sit and watch birds coming to feeders in "downtime". My wife loves hummers !
ps That cafe is scheduled for the route back to the airport

 

[Andy Adcock]

For me and I'm sure many others, a quality bird feeding set up is a major attraction. Our choice of accommodation in each region, and stops en route, are both heavily influenced by the chance to sit and watch birds coming to feeders in "downtime". My wife loves hummers !
ps That cafe is scheduled for the route back to the airport

Better hope that there aren't twenty, Chinese photographers there as there were the last time we tried to look in there. With all their tripods set up, there was simply no room for anyone else to view the feeders and we (I), left in rather a huff, having had a bit of a do with their leader.

 

[Pecky]

I was in Costa Rica in March 2020, just before things really started to shut down due to Covid. The places we visited before our trip was cut short still had feeders. I'm planning on going to CR again and I'm wondering what the situation is there now. For me, one of the big attractions of any birding lodge is a good feeder setup, especially nectar feeders for the hummers. I'd be bitterly disappointed to find myself staying in a feeder-free lodge.

 

[Pecky]

Hi all. I've read that the CR Govt has decide that "feeding wild animals isn't eco friendly" and that the implication is that lodges, restaurants etc should remove all hummingbird feeders and fruit feeders with immediate effect ? I'm planning to visit in Feb and much of the detailed itinerary is based around visiting locations with feeders so this could potentially ruin my trip !! Has anyone seen this actually followed up ?

Did you go to CR in February? What was the situation regarding the feeders?

 

[njlarsen]

Something similar is the law in Panama. It seems this was implemented as result of someone making tours intended for tourists to hand feed monkeys and the predictable result happened: someone was bitten by a monkey. Those I talked with said there was no enforcement regarding bird feeders.
Niels

 

[Tony Knight]

Did you go to CR in February? What was the situation regarding the feeders?

Yes we went in Feb and had a great time. There were one or two cafe's etc that had removed feeders but most were feeding as usual. Given the importance of the feeders I assume many were prepared to take the risk. We stopped at one well known cafe on the way from Osa to San Gerado specifically to view the feeders and found they had all been removed but I think all others, including those at San Gerado and Sarapiqui (Selvaverde and Ara Ambigua), and Cafe Colibri on the way back to the airport were still in place and as good as ever.
Tony