War on windpark-blocking red kites?
Authorities are offering a €1000 reward for information leading to solving 11 cases of dead red kite protected birds. Nine of the deaths were due to a long-banned poison.
Protected red kites being poisoned in north Germany. Image:
The German Presseportal.de here writes that a total of eleven dead red kites have been reported to the LLUR (State Office for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Areas) since 2017 from the area south of Neumünster in northern Germany.
“Nine of these rare birds of prey died of a banned insect venom,” the Presseportal.de reported. Now the Hunting Association of Schleswig-Holstein e.V. (LJV) is offering a reward of 1,000 euros (1,100 US dollars) for information leading to solving the cases.
“Banned poison”
Authorities say “the 9 red kites died from an insect poison which had been banned for many years” and that four dead red kites with suspected poisoning have been reported since March alone.
“Three birds were found close together by a local hunter in the community of Rendswühren in the Plön district. The police departments Segeberg and Kiel have taken over the investigation,” according to the Presseportal.de.
More than half of the worldwide population lives on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, where wind energy proponents have been actively lobbying to build wind parks. Red kites and other protected species have ling been obstacles against the construction of wind parks.
A few days ago we reported here how one red kite had been found shot dead in an area where a wind park could be built under the condition that “no protected species be proven to exist there”.
1000-euro reward
In 2008, authorities and wildlife clubs jointly signed the Kiel Declaration on the Protection of Birds of Prey, under which the costs of examining dead birds of prey can be borne by the state,” the Presseportal reports. “Anyone who finds a dead bird of prey where the circumstances of discovery indicate an illegal act is requested to contact the LLUR (+49) 4347-704-0 or the Lower Nature Conservation Authority of the respective district.”
The Presseportal.de also informs that persons may also contact the Landesjagdverband Schleswig-Holstein e.V., which is offering a reward of 1000 euros for information that would lead to solving the cases. Evidence from citizens are accepted under (+49) 4551/884-0 (Police Bad Segeberg UVS) or (+49) 431/160-1503 (Police Kiel UVS).
Your contact at the Landesjagdverband Schleswig-Holstein e.V (State hunting association of Schleswig-Holstein e.V.) is
located at Böhnhusener Weg 6, 24220 Flintbek. Telephone: (+49) 4347-9087-0.
This type of action has also been going on for some time in the UK. Many Red Kites are illegally killed as are many other raptors. This is illegally done to ensure that artificially bred and released ‘game birds’ are not taken prey by any local raptors.
In the UK it usually happens on land used for the shooting of ‘game birds’ — ground-feeding birds that includes grouse, quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, waterfowl (ducks, geese and waders) and other bird species — or land adjacent to it.