Another bird of protected species has fallen victim to poachers
23.09.2008The bird was saved by the veterinarian of Banya village (Karlovo region) after representatives of the local forestry departments had tried to stuff it. Still alive, the bird had a broken bone in its left wing and a wound in the chest. Yet, it was conscious. Thanks to the adequate reaction of the veterinarian, the bird was saved.
After the eagle was received at the Rescue Center, it was put to an overall examination and X-ray. The X-ray showed clearly 12 small ball-shots used for shooting at small feathered game. At present the patient is stable. However, it is not clear yet whether the bird could be released back into the wild...
The bird was shot in the middle of August, i.e. in the beginning of the small feathered game hunting season. The Short-toed Eagle is a species protected by the Biological Diversity Act. Shooting at protected species is a crime.
However, as the hunting season began, more and more patients of protected species shot by unconscientious hunters are received at the Rescue Center. This is the sixth bird shot this year, and it is just the beginning of the hunting season...
Green Balkans’ team reminds that a Bill for Amendments and Supplements to the Hunting and Game Protection Act is to be submitted to the Parliament in early September, as one of the proposed amendments provides for the prolongation of the waterfowl hunting season from January 31st to February 28th. This contradicts to the provisions of the Birds Directive, Biological Diversity Act, as well as the Bern and Bonn Conventions ratified by Bulgaria.
For more information about the bird and the patients of the Rescue Center, please contact:
Dr. Sashka Vitanova
tel.: +359 42 607 741, +359 885 228 486
e-mail: svitanova@greenbalkans.org
