Breeding female imperial eagle struck by nine shotgun pellets

On Monday 7 June 2021, an imperial eagle was shot with shotgun pellets south-west of Tulln in Lower Austria.

Nine shotgun pellets in the breeding bird

The injured bird of prey was retrieved by alert passers-by and given initial treatment at the Owl and Bird of Prey Station Haringsee (EGS). The bird is a breeding individual from the Tullnerfelder Danube floodplains, and was forced to abandon its two five-week-old chicks to their fate. BirdLife Austria filed a criminal complaint and is calling for a reform of hunting law.

We assume this was a deliberate attack on an imperial eagle. The fact that the breeding female imperial eagle was shot with nine shotgun pellets and has left two five-week-old chicks behind in the nest is a serious threat to the fragile population of around 30 breeding imperial eagle pairs in Austria!

Matthias Schmidt, bird of prey expert at BirdLife Austria

A hotspot of bird of prey persecution

The district of Tulln is no stranger to illegal bird of prey persecution: in 2015, an imperial eagle was found poisoned here. In the same hunting territory, five common buzzards were already found dead in March.

Criminal consequences

Under §181f of the Criminal Code, shooting a strictly protected species such as the imperial eagle is a criminal offence carrying prison sentences of up to two years.

Although hobby hunters condemn such acts, our experience shows that the perpetrators are mostly licensed hunters. It is therefore counterproductive that potential suspects within the ranks of hobby hunters must give their consent before evidence can be examined.

Matthias Schmidt

High Number of Unreported Cases in Illegal Persecution

Illegal persecution is by far the most common human-caused cause of death for the imperial eagle. Between 30 and 40 percent of all imperial eagles found dead in Austria were shot or poisoned.