A DEAD eagle was found on the hunting ground close to the municipality of Voderady in Trnava Region. The female Eastern Imperial Eagle was probably poisoned, Jozef Chavko of the Raptor Protection of Slovakia / Ochrana dravcov na Slovensku association informed the SITA newswire.
“The dead female eagle was found in a position typical for poisoning,” Chavko said. Police were called and the crime of a public threat and killing a protected animal is being investigated.
According to Chavko, this eagle is not the first in the region to fall victim to poisoning. “Especially in the lowlands of western Slovakia, we have found dozens of animals killed by poison, including the most protected and threatened species.”
“All the poisoned animals have been found on hunting grounds,” Chavko added. “Hunters always tell us they have nothing to do with the killings and have no clue who is killing the protected animals in this way.”
A lot of energy and resources have been dedicated in past decades to help these threatened species. “At first, it seemed like we could help eagles and hawks,” Chavko explained. “But after events in recent years, we again stand before a huge threat.” In the Small Carpathians, 10 years ago there nested six Eastern Imperial Eagles couples, 10 Saker Falcon couples and about 40 hawk couples. Now, eagles and falcons no longer nest there, and hawks are seen only very sporadically. He concluded that the poisoned eagle represents a big loss as it is one of the most endangered species of raptors in Europe.
