Special | Regional Hunting Federation
The runner-up in the XXVI World Whites Arm Tournament, who uses a crooked stock to see out of her left eye due to a vision problem in her right, is committed to defending the hunt “so it doesn’t end”
The track record of the Murcian Juana Ballesteros has not reached the ceiling and she has added a new victory: the silver medal of the XXVI World Championship for White Arms, held at the beginning of last July. In this sporting modality, which presents a certain complexity for the shooter while at the same time projecting a strong showiness for the spectator, Ballesteros has become an outstanding figure not only for her merits, but also for the courage she exudes every time she faces rolls. “I like this sport so much that I always carry security, confidence and serenity with me,” says the recent world runner-up.
-How did you start in the world of hunting?
-In the world of hunting I started when, when I was very little, my father took me with him. When we saw a bird standing still, he would grab me from behind so that the recoil of the shotgun wouldn’t knock me off my ass when he fired; I was liking it more and more.
What does hunting mean to you? What values does it give you?
-Hunting means a lot to me and has very important values that if you are not a hunter, it will be very difficult for you to understand. Because every step you take through the mountain already teaches you. See how it dawns in the mountains, the song of the partridge at dawn, hear a bark… if you don’t experience it, you don’t know what it is. If you sit in the bush and observe the behavior of the animals, you can learn a lot from hunting and that is when you value it. Only he who is a true hunter knows how to value it.
-What does the sports modality of pigeon to arm give you?
-I like this sport so much that I always carry security, confidence and serenity, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have a bad day. If I didn’t carry so much security and confidence, I would have abandoned it already, because my right eye doesn’t see well and I had to make a crooked stock to continue shooting. I shoot to the right through the left eye, and so it is quite difficult to get into a championship and get to achieve the achievements that I have achieved, so I am sure of myself.
-How do you train?
-I don’t train at all, I go straight to the run. In Murcia you don’t shoot quail or pigeons, and I can’t go to Alicante, Valencia or Albacete to train. In Valencia, for example, they train every weekend. I only go to the run, that’s why I have confidence, and also because I like it a lot.
-You have achieved great achievements in this sport. Do you think they get the recognition they deserve?
-I think that the achievements that I have achieved in this world are not valued at all, perhaps if it had been in soccer, tennis or something like that, if they would be valued. The merit of this sport is not valued.
-Will the Region soon have a world champion in White Arms? Do you see yourself with the strength to reach the world throne?
-Yes, I am very eager, strong and excited to bring another championship to my land, I will keep trying.
hunting attacks
“It is outrageous and I feel powerless to see what they are doing to our way of life”
-How do you live the continuous attacks and criticisms that hunters have received for years?
-The continuous attacks and criticism that we hunters have I take quite badly. It is outrageous, and I feel powerless to see what they are doing to our way of life which is hunting. What I will never understand is that with the money that we hunters contribute, everything that moves the world of hunting, the jobs that it generates… and then the anti-hunting come to take away our traditions and get paid, which is what the only thing that interests them.
-How do you see the future of hunting? Are you pessimistic or do you think there is relief and that hunting will always take place?
-I see the future of the hunting activity as bad, very dark, but I want to be positive and fight for what we have, for what is ours, which has cost us so much work and money. We should keep fighting so this doesn’t end.
-How do you assess the new ‘Animal Welfare Law’ that is being processed?
-Animal welfare? I don’t agree with these people or their philosophy, I think no hunter does. We hunters treat animals as if they were one of the family, we care about them and always try to keep them in the best conditions. I have my field fenced to have my dogs loose and with an unbeatable quality of life.
They approve the ‘Animal Welfare Law’ but they do not approve a law that protects farmers from the wolf that sometimes even ruins the families that live off their cattle, they do not protect farmers from pests such as the rabbit or the wild boar that they destroy entire crops… I don’t understand. No matter how hard they try, hunting is more necessary than ever, and I absolutely do not agree with this legislation.
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