Birds of Prey: Cases of Poaching on the Rise in Germany

The illegal persecution of protected red kites and other birds of prey has increased again in Germany. According to the Bonn-based Recording and Documentation Centre for Raptor Persecution and Species Protection Crime (E.D.G.A.R.), the number of cases registered nationwide from January to May 2020 has risen from 24 to 30 compared to the same period last year. A total of 26 districts across 9 federal states are affected.

North Rhine-Westphalia as a Hotspot for Raptor Persecution

By far the greatest number of crime scenes are located in North Rhine-Westphalia, where 12 corresponding criminal proceedings are pending with the police. Strongholds of illegal persecution there include the Heinsberg district and the Münsterland region, with a total of 7 confirmed cases of poisoning. Further cases have been reported from the districts of Paderborn (shooting of a nesting red kite), Recklinghausen (attempted removal of juvenile goshawks from a nest), Aachen (shooting of a common buzzard), the Rhein-Erft district (poisoning of a common buzzard), and the Oberbergischer Kreis (illegal keeping of a Eurasian eagle-owl).

Schleswig-Holstein is also affected, where several red kites showing typical signs of poisoning were found and seized by police in April in the districts of Segeberg and Plön. In addition, there was the shooting of a nesting Eurasian eagle-owl on its nest near Elmshorn (Pinneberg district) and an activated goshawk trap found in the garden of a pigeon keeper from the Dithmarschen district.

Since the beginning of the year, Bavaria has recorded three confirmed cases of poisoning in the districts of Landshut (poisoning of a red kite with carbofuran and the laying of poisoned bait eggs) and Schwandorf (sparrowhawk trap with live decoy pigeons). In a further case from the district of Roth, there is strong suspicion of poisoning, and investigations are still ongoing.

Police in Brandenburg currently have three criminal proceedings pending: the poisoning of a red kite in the Oder-Spree district, the destruction of a goshawk nest in the Spree-Neisse district, and the felling of an occupied white-tailed eagle nesting tree in the Uckermark.

In Lower Saxony, police are investigating two cases from the districts of Ammerland (felling of a white-tailed eagle nesting tree) and Emsland (setting of illegal live traps by a poultry farmer). Authorities in Baden-Württemberg reported the shooting of a red kite in Pforzheim and the illegal trapping of a sparrowhawk in the Ortenau district. Further cases were reported from Thuringia (shooting of a buzzard near Gotha), Saxony-Anhalt (shooting of a peregrine falcon in the Wittenberg district), and Hesse (poisoning of a peregrine falcon near Offenbach).

Dark figure extremely high

The Committee Against Bird Slaughter points out that the cases that have come to light represent only a small fraction of the crimes actually committed. “The number of unreported cases for this type of crime is extremely high — we estimate that fewer than 5% of all offences are ever discovered,” said executive director Alexander Heyd. Added to this is the fact that authorities only very rarely succeed in identifying a perpetrator. Since 2005, the nationwide monitoring operated by E.D.G.A.R. has recorded more than 1’300 cases across Germany, yet in the same period only 86 suspects were identified and subsequently convicted. The convicted offenders were primarily pigeon breeders, poultry keepers, and hobby hunters who regard birds of prey as a threat to their animals or as competition. More about hunting myths on wildbeimwild.com.