Abstract
SummaryIllegal killing/taking of birds is a growing concern across the Mediterranean. However, there are few quantitative data on the species and countries involved. We assessed numbers of individual birds of each species killed/taken illegally in each Mediterranean country per year, using a diverse range of data sources and incorporating expert knowledge. We estimated that 11–36 million individuals per year may be killed/taken illegally in the region, many of them on migration. In each of Cyprus, Egypt, Italy, Lebanon and Syria, more than two million birds may be killed/taken on average each year. For species such as Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla, Common Quail Coturnix coturnix, Eurasian Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, House Sparrow Passer domesticus and Song Thrush Turdus philomelos, more than one million individuals of each species are estimated to be killed/taken illegally on average every year. Several species of global conservation concern are also reported to be killed/taken illegally in substantial numbers: Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata, Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca. Birds in the Mediterranean are illegally killed/taken primarily for food, sport and for use as cage-birds or decoys. At the 20 worst locations with the highest reported numbers, 7.9 million individuals may be illegally killed/taken per year, representing 34% of the mean estimated annual regional total number of birds illegally killed/taken for all species combined. Our study highlighted the paucity of data on illegal killing/taking of birds. Monitoring schemes which use systematic sampling protocols are needed to generate increasingly robust data on trends in illegal killing/taking over time and help stakeholders prioritise conservation actions to address this international conservation problem. Large numbers of birds are also hunted legally in the region, but specific totals are generally unavailable. Such data, in combination with improved estimates for illegal killing/taking, are needed for robustly assessing the sustainability of exploitation of birds.
Highlights
Illegal activities, such as poaching and poisoning of wild animals, are common worldwide and threaten biological diversity in many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
We calculated an estimate of number of individual birds of each population illegally killed in Mediterranean countries by summing the mean estimated number of individual birds illegally killed annually in all Mediterranean countries, adjusted by the percentage of the country’s land area falling inside the flyway
Expressed as a total per km2 in each country, the potential highest rates per unit area were for Malta (18–667 individual birds estimated to be known or likely to be killed illegally/year/km2), Cyprus (146–351) and Lebanon (161–335; Table 1)
Summary
Illegal activities, such as poaching and poisoning of wild animals, are common worldwide and threaten biological diversity in many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems Magnin (1991) estimated that 1,000 million migratory birds were illegally shot and trapped every year in Mediterranean countries, including some 100,000 raptors and “probably many millions” of individuals of protected species or of huntable species killed illegally. These totals were mainly extrapolated from estimated numbers of people shooting birds (9–10 million) or trapping them (1 million) and anecdotal numbers of traps and shots fired in areas known to have a high level of illegal killing and trapping (e.g. Malta, Cyprus and Turkey). Illegal killing and taking of birds occurs in North Africa and the Middle East (BirdLife International 2007), but is widespread in Europe, including European Union (EU) countries, despite national and EU legislation and commitments under international conventions (BirdLife International 2011)
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