Birds of prey live dangerously in Bavaria: poachers try to kill them with poisoned baits. Bird conservationists in the Free State register high numbers of deaths - while the search for the perpetrators is usually unsuccessful.
Coburg/Hilpoltstein (dpa/lby) - They become victims of animal owners, animal haters and occasionally hunters: the eight dead birds of prey that recently died in the Coburg district are the latest cases in an ongoing series of poison attacks. As in the previous year, the deaths of birds eating poisoned baits remained high, according to the Bavarian State Association for Bird Protection (LBV) in Hilpoltstein.
Around 60 dead birds of prey have already been reported to the association this year - especially red kites, buzzards and hawks. In around 15 cases, experts confirmed: The animals were poisoned. "There is no district where nothing has happened," says Andreas von Lindeiner, the LBV's nature conservation officer. The association collects cases together with the Gregor Louisoder environmental foundation in the "Tatort Natur" project.
According to the LBV, a total of six marsh harriers, a carrion crow and a red kite have died in the Coburg district in the past few weeks. In addition, two dead chickens were reported to the association, which were probably used as bait. The birds of prey had eaten from the chickens that had been poisoned with the pesticide E605, which is banned in the EU. "My assessment is that a chicken farmer from the region wanted to get rid of a fox with the groomed hens," says LBV chairman Frank Reißenweber. The association has filed a criminal complaint.
But the perpetrator or perpetrators will probably get away with it. The clear-up rate tends towards zero, says von Lindeiner. Poachers would not place the poisoned bait - such as carcasses, meat waste or eggs - on their own property, an allocation is almost impossible. The association primarily suspects pet and poultry owners who want to protect their own animals from the birds of prey. Animal haters could also be considered perpetrators, and in rare cases hunters.
The highly potent poison carbofuran, which is also banned in Europe, is usually used. It remains dangerous even after the animal has died - not only for scavengers, but also for people or dogs who come into contact with the carcass.
Last year, the LBV registered 127 dead birds of prey across Bavaria, of which 47 had been poisoned according to investigations - a maximum that could be exceeded this year, however. The association has been registering a particular accumulation in Lower Bavaria for some time. The police set up a working group there in 2021 to specifically investigate the killings.
So far, no perpetrators have been caught, reports the police headquarters. In an action in February, emergency services searched large areas with drones and poison detection dogs in order to discover bait in good time. According to the police in Lower Bavaria, no new case of dead birds of prey has been reported since then.
