Dramatic Bird Decline in Germany

Warning from the Max Planck Institute for Behavioural Biology in Radolfzell: The new Red List of Breeding Birds in Germany shows that the decline of birds in Germany is continuing unchecked.

Agriculture, not predators

Birds of agricultural landscapes, as well as insect-eaters and migratory birds, are most at risk. This finding refutes the claim made by many hunters that predators such as foxes, martens, or cats are primarily responsible for the decline in species.

The fact that it is above all birds of agricultural landscapes, insect-eaters, and migratory birds that are affected shows that industrial agriculture is the primary cause of the rapid decline in bird populations. Germany therefore needs an immediate hunting ban on foxes and other predators.

Nadja Michler, Wildlife Policy Advisor at PETA

More than half of all breeding bird species endangered

More than half of the 259 permanently breeding bird species are endangered. 14 species have already become extinct in Germany, and six more are expected to be listed as extinct in the next Red List as well.

The link between species decline and agriculture

In Germany, 60 percent of the total agricultural area is used to grow feed for animals. 60 percent of all mammals on Earth are “livestock,” most of them cattle and pigs, 36 percent are humans, while only four percent are wild animals.

Hunting associations frequently argue that foxes threaten the populations of certain ground-nesting birds such as grey partridges or lapwings. However, experts identify the destruction of their habitats through the ongoing intensification of agriculture and the associated increased use of pesticides as the root cause of their decline.