A better knowledge of the illegal use of poison in Europe

The use of poison to control carnivores may seem to be a nightmare of the past. However, alarming indicators are once again being seen in several European countries. The number of raptors such as buzzards, kites, imperial and golden eagles and vultures found dead has been increasing every year, since 1990. The illegal use of poisoned baits is one of the main causes of a non-natural death in protected species such as vultures, raptors, bears, wolfs and other carnivores and has caused a decline in most of them and even extinctions locally. Despite the cases of poisoning there’s few information on the real impact on biodiversity in many countries because it’s a persecuted crime and it’s usually done in a clandestine way.

Project aims and objectives

The project’s aim is to:

1. Contribute to a better understanding of the situation of Illegal Poisoning in Europe
2. Bring clear data to the decision makers about the impact of poison in protected and domestic species. The database will be initiated in countries without valuable information or updated in those where previous work has been done
3. Define which organizations and administrations are working against the illegal use of poison
4. Exchange of information on the actions already demonstrated useful against this cruel practice carried out previously
5. To form a united European front against the illegal use of poison

This action will be carried out by the VCF as a coordinator and with the collaboration of local entities or persons that will collect information about the illegal use of poison in different European countries. For budgetary reasons, in a first phase of the project a limited number of countries will be chosen taking into account different criteria: Poison alert indicators in the country, recent spread of wolf and other carnivore populations, scavenger populations present in the area, high impact of poisoned baits in domestic animals (cats and dogs) in the wild, funds availability by the zoos in each country, amount of funds collected in those countries with low economical resources and others.