FEATURE
By 1977, the entire
Spanish population of
White-headed Duck Oxyura
leucocephala was restricted
to a single lagoon. A
hunting ban followed and
by 1988 the country’s
population swelled from
just 22 to over 400
Photo Bouke ten Cate
0
Booted Eagle Hieraaetus
pennatus
Photo Sandip Anghosh
1
14
compiled the information to produce country
estimates for each species.
Van den Bossche has personal experience
of this devastation. He once stood within two
metres of a poacher using a M16 machine
gun to blast Great White Pelicans Pelecanus
onocrotalus from Israel’s sky. For those of us
who prefer their birds alive, Van den Bossche’s
encounter begs a burning question: why? Why
are birds killed in such unsustainable numbers?
“Drivers differ between countries, regions
and species,” says Van den Bossche. “Most birds
are illegally killed for food – culinary delicacies
rather than subsistence – and so-called ‘sport’,
but persecution motivated by ‘predator control’
is also important for birds of prey.”
In Italy, large numbers of Common Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs and Meadow Pipit Anthus
pratensis (Near Threatened) are destined for
the pot. The chaffinch is also eaten in France,
where the Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana
is particularly prized as an unlawful delicacy.
Subsistence may be involved at the margin, but
mostly the driver is commercial: birds mean
money.
In 2018, Slovenian customs officers
discovered a huge illegal shipment of dead
birds – including a thousand Red-throated
Pipits Anthus cervinus – hidden in a bus
exiting Romania. They were bound for Italian
restaurants. In Cyprus, Eurasian Blackcap Sylvia
atricapilla is among the species caught and
cooked for a dish called ambelopoulia. This is
dangerous work, and even involves organised
criminals. For them, birds are just another
commodity to be trafficked.
In Malta, dead raptors frequently serve as
trophies. Poachers often like to mount and
display Booted Eagles Hieraaetus pennatus that
they have unlawfully killed. In Greece, illegal
activity is more about sport or cagebirds than
food. Meanwhile, the second iteration of The
Killing report announced that illegal killing
fuelled by “hunting tourism” is rampant across
central Europe, where hunting legislation is
reportedly ineffectively enforced.
In northern Europe, the main motivation
behind illegal bird killing is persecution for
“predator control” – most notably of raptors
in locations where livestock or gamebirds are
BIRDLIFE • APR-JUN 2019