Illegal killing and taking of birds in Europe outside the Mediterranean: assessing the scope and scale of a complex issue

Gert Ottens,Matthias Schmidt,Marius Karlonas,Elchin Sultanov,Dimitar Gradinarov,Hólmfríður Arnardóttir ,Lars Lachman,Leivur Janus Hansen ,Victoria R Jones,Stuart H M Butchart ,Tatiana Kuzmenko,Miroslav Demko,Gerald Driessens,Jarosław Krogulec,Márton Horváth,Paul Shimmings,Ulrik Lötberg,Dorin Damoc,Anne‐Laure Brochet ,Veljo Volke,Alexandre Vintchevski,Mamikon Ghasabyan,Michael M Gerber ,Knud Flensted,Jean‐Yves Paquet ,Teemu Lehtiniemi,Zdeněk Vermouzek,Alexander Rukhaia,Georg Willi,John Lusby,Andris Stipnieks,Patric Lorgé,W Van Den Bossche

doi:10.1017/s0959270917000533

Abstract

SummaryThe illegal killing and taking of wild birds remains a major threat on a global scale. However, there are few quantitative data on the species affected and countries involved. We quantified the scale and scope of this issue in Northern and Central Europe and the Caucasus, using a diverse range of data sources and incorporating expert knowledge. The issue was reported to be widespread across the region and affects almost all countries/territories assessed. We estimated that 0.4–2.1 million birds per year may be killed/taken illegally in the region. The highest estimate of illegal killing in the region was for Azerbaijan (0.2-1.0 million birds per year). Out of the 20 worst locations identified, 13 were located in the Caucasus. Birds were reported to be illegally killed/taken primarily for sport and food in the Caucasus and for sport and predator/pest control in both Northern and Central Europe. All of the 28 countries assessed are parties to the Bern Convention and 19 are also European Union Member States. There are specific initiatives under both these policy instruments to tackle this threat, yet our data showed that illegal killing and taking is still occurring and is not restricted to Mediterranean European countries. Markedly increased effort is required to ensure that existing legislation is adequately implemented and complied with/enforced on the ground. Our study also highlighted the paucity of data on illegal killing and taking of birds in the region. It is a priority, identified by relevant initiatives under the Bern Convention and the European Union, to implement systematic monitoring of illegal killing and taking and to collate robust data, allowing stakeholders to set priorities, track trends and monitor the effectiveness of responses.

Highlights

Illegal killing and taking of birds has been a continuing issue in Europe, from the 19th century and earlier, with for example raptors persecuted owing to predation of gamebirds (Stroud 2003).The advent of national legislation to protect birds, especially raptors, in the 20th century made these activities formally illegal (Bijleveld 1974)
Owing to the uncertainty associated with both parameters, the ranking of species is more informative than the absolute values; for the same reason, we report the ratio rather than the percentage
0.4–2.1 million individual birds were estimated to be illegally killed in N & C Europe and the Caucasus region each year (0.2–1.1 million in Caucasus and 219,000 individual birds illegally killed per country of the sub-region on average; 0.2–0.8 million in Central Europe and 41,900 individual birds illegally killed per country of the sub-region on average; 0.06–0.2 million in Northern Europe and 9,400 individual birds illegally killed per country/territory of the subregion on average, representing 52%, 36% and 12% respectively of the mean estimated annual regional total of all birds; Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Illegal killing and taking of birds has been a continuing issue in Europe, from the 19th century and earlier, with for example raptors persecuted owing to predation of gamebirds (Stroud 2003).The advent of national legislation to protect birds, especially raptors, in the 20th century made these activities formally illegal (Bijleveld 1974). Illegal killing and taking of birds was one of the principal drivers for the development of international policy instruments (Hudson 1975), such as the European Union (EU) Directive 79/409/EEC ( replaced by the Directive 2009/147/ EC) on the conservation of wild birds (or EU Birds Directive; Council Directive 2009), the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Council of Europe 1979), and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/ CMS 1979). Most European countries are Party to these treaties and have transposed these texts into national law Despite this strong legal protection, a number of illegal activities continue to threaten birds in Europe, including trapping of passerines for food consumption, shooting of protected species for ‘sport’ and poisoning raptors for ‘predator control’

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