Critter News

AUGUST 19, 2008

Amy, a German shepherd, and Uno, a Labrador retriever, have joined the team at {Frankfurt,} one of Europe's busiest airports — the first two dogs in Germany trained to sniff out live animals, plants or derivatives or remains of them. Incredible that illegal smuggling is estimated at $293 billion. That's huge.

Trafficking 100

Trafficking Germany illegal Reptiles 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2015

Turtle Doves have been declining in Europe since the 1970s, and in this century alone, the continent has lost 40% of its population of the species. And that flight is illegal because EU legislation does not allow export of game meat from Serbia to EU. Nowadays, the flocks are even smaller, merely a few dozen birds.

Serbia 270

Serbia Slaughter Slaughtered Turtles 270

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. Confiscated from a poacher in Brescia, Italy, this robin will be released to fly away into an uncertain world, where habitat is threatened and predators and poachers await.

Cambodia 142

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 142

Critter News

SEPTEMBER 6, 2009

The hunting and selling of ortolans, which have suffered a Europe-wide decline of 40-50% in the last 40 years, has been illegal in France since 1999. "For 10 years now, not only has the state turned a blind eye [to the poachers] but it has been complicit," said Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the LPO. "It

France 100

France Endangered Species Protest Protesting 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2014

Birding Europe Patch Birding Serbia' Since the European White Waterlily is strictly protected under Serbian law, a week ago I informed the Republic Inspection for the Environmental Protection at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection. I have not received any answer so far.

Serbia 236

Serbia Stray Dog Protection Botswana 236

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2011

Illegal capture for the wild animal trade is an obvious peril for such a charismatic species, but this big blue bird is also hunted both for its meat and feathers. Such cavities are hard to find and are sometimes disputed by more than one species. To be more specific, this vast tropical savanna is home to some 800 bird species.

Protection 183

Protection Brazil Parrots Paraguay 183

Animal Ethics

JANUARY 23, 2008

To the Editor: Re “ In Europe, the Catch of the Day Is Often Illegal ” (“Empty Seas” series, front page, Jan. 15): The appalling commercial demand for seafood will soon exhaust the oceans. Only a vigorous, internationally enforced, decades-long general moratorium on commercial fishing can bring us back from this brink.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York illegal 2008 40

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2024

An adult Red-breasted Goose in a wildfowl collection Red-breasts are indeed popular in wildfowl collections, but they are valuable birds that are rarely kept full-winged (it has been illegal for many years to keep them un-pinioned) so these days escapes are relatively rare. That was in October 1991.

Bulgaria 130

Bulgaria Geese Romania Estonia 130

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

They may eat other insects if they have to, but all they really want are ants and Gorman lists 24 species of ant that are part of their diet in Europe, any life stage will do. Gorman also leads bird tours in central and Eastern Europe and posts photos and updates on his work on his own website and, as I said before, Facebook.

Woodpeckers 224

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 224

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2016

Out of just under 200 bird species I observed this year in SE Europe, there are 6 threatened species. Illegal spring hunting and round-ups of moulting birds are taking place on the Russian breeding grounds and illegal shooting continues in Norway. In Europe the population size is estimated to be decreasing by 30-49% in 22.8

Serbia 198

Serbia Greece Montenegro Bulgaria 198

Animal Ethics

JULY 19, 2007

Since it is illegal to sell horse meat for human consumption in the U.S., Cavel, a Belgian company, kills horses in Illinois for export to Europe. In DeKalb, Illinois, that monster is Cavel International, the only remaining plant in the U.S. that slaughters horses for human consumption.

Horse Slaughter 40

Horse Slaughter Slaughter Slaughtered Horses 40

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

The reasons that these ten have been selected is to illustrate some of the myriad reasons that Africa’s birds are being driven to extinction; from commercial overfishing, powerline collisions, illegal trade, poisoning, traditional medicine usage, overgrazing and conversion of specialized habitats into agricultural land.

Endangered Species 183

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 183

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

When I came here for the first time, the Kerkini Lake was the only place in Europe where Dalmatian Pelicans were increasing their numbers. This is my only way in and out of the harbour,” Nikos good-naturedly complained. Dalmatian Pelican © Dusanka Stokovic-Simic.

Greece 189

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 189

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2020

And then, we are immersed into the history of falconry–the beauty and wonder of these birds and the “art” of training them and hunting with them traveled from Europe to the Middle East, translating eventually into a new sport–falcon racing.

Falcons 200

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 200

Critter News

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

John Dodd, the multimillionaire co-founder of Edinburgh-based Artemis Investment Management, has lost £107,000 after illegal pesticides were found on the Scottish shooting estate he owns. Tags: UK europe. This guy is the third Scottish landowner to have subsidies cut under these regulations. Don't worry. He's a millionaire.

Legislation 100

Legislation 2006 illegal Farming 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2018

Now, there are still 10 million of them there but, due in part to a population dip after 1970, it is, in the reign of the second Elizabeth, illegal to kill them intentionally. By the time of Queen Elizabeth I, they were considered vermin, a bounty placed on their small heads. What’s magic about 1970? What, for that matter, is normal?

Humane 102

Humane Species North America Sparrows 102

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

There seem to be so many that some days the negative stories just seem to pile up in my reader, species lost here, habitat destroyed there, poisoning, illegal persecution, the list can seem endless. Further research revealed two more companies in Britain and several others across Europe all engaged in the same shooting tourism.

Morocco 171

Morocco Turtles Protest Protesting 171

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2014

Editor Mitchell is the founder and managing editor of Birdwatch magazine, managing editor of Birdguides, a birding news website, and the author of two books on the birds of Europe and Great Britain. They are use the Objects concept as a framework for retelling the history of birding in an appealing, visual manner. Poro-prism binoculars (no.

Mauritius 172

Mauritius Collecting Egypt Cyprus 172

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2022

I am not sure I understand the logic of this, but I guess evolution does. Where do woodcocks feed? As you might imagine, ornithologists have asked this question before.

Italy 173

Italy Deer Russia France 173