Six black vultures and one griffon vulture were the victims of a poisoned snare set by an unknown perpetrator on the land of the village of Ticha in the Kotla Balkans until last night.
The killed birds are an endangered species and ecologists have been trying to return the species to the wild for nearly 30 years. The case is under investigation, but ecologists commented that there has not been a single case of indictment or conviction in Bulgaria for poisoning wild animals or birds. Three of the birds killed by the poison were donated to our country from Spain for the purpose of returning the species to the Bulgarian wild nature. It is assumed that the poison was used to lure jackals and wolves by local livestock breeders.
According to environmentalists, poisoning and illegal shooting of wild animals is done all over Europe, but - unlike here, investigators there always manage to reach the perpetrators.
Ivelin Ivanov, "Green Balkans": "The differences between other places and Bulgaria are that there the poisoners are in prison, while here in Bulgaria there is not a single case in which a suspect has been charged."
The case in the land of the village of Ticha is the second in four years.
Ivelin Ivanov, "Green Balkans": "The difference from the previous time four years ago is that this time it is near another farm of the same owner."
And the poison used is different - it acts slowly, and the GPS-tagged birds do not die immediately next to the bait, which delays ecologists from preventing the death of more vultures.
Ivelin Ivanov, "Green Balkans": "That is, the birds have eaten from the bait for three or four days and die consecutively 3 - 4 - 5 days after that. And they do not die at the scene of the crime, on the bait, but die kilometers away. Usually near their nests or in the places where they spend the night."
This is the case with the last pair of black vultures found near their nest.
Emiliyan Stoynov, Fund for Wild Flora and Fauna: "Even two pairs actually. We found one pair first two days ago, and now, yesterday, the second pair was found. Newly formed pairs, which were counted on to increase the population."
Ecologists do not rule out the possibility of finding more dead birds without tracking devices. But they hope that the entire local population in the Kotla Balkans will not be killed because of private interests and a sense of impunity.