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Illegal hunting of quail in the Balkans threatens its existence

2024-08-12 22:46:48, Aktualitet CNA

The international nature conservation organization "EuroNatur" and its partners in the Balkan countries expressed through a joint press statement on Monday the concern that the illegal hunting of partridges is causing the loss of this endangered type of bird.

According to the organizations, it is estimated that at least 160,000 quail are killed illegally every year in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and this amounts to about 2.5 to 3 percent of the total European population.

According to the organizations, hunting is done through an illegal method: hunters place voice-imitating tape recorders in meadows and fields at night to attract flocks of partridges, which migrate to their wintering grounds in Africa.

The birds are fooled by the enticing calls into flocks and at sunrise poachers shoot large colonies of birds killing many of them.

Biologists are concerned that the mass and illegal killing of quail along what is known as the "Adriatic Migration Route" will lead to the extinction of quail in Europe.

Quail hunting in Southeast Europe is concentrated according to environmental organizations mainly on two migration routes: along the Adriatic coast and in the plains of northern Serbia

EuroNatur and partner organizations in the Balkans say they are campaigning to end illegal quail hunting and have recently published an updated map showing in which areas of the Balkan countries quail are shot using illegal methods .

"The illegal killing of partridges in the Balkans is not only a local problem, but a European problem," said Dr Justine Vansynghel, project manager for the conservation of migratory birds at EuroNatur.

Together with its partner organizations in the Balkans, EuroNatur demands that the law enforcement authorities in the Balkan countries take continuous action against the illegal killing of birds and that the judiciary imposes appropriate penalties on illegal hunters.

The organizations request that the hunting community have zero tolerance for illegal quail killings and report the cases to the relevant authorities./ VOA