PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Thanks to conservation efforts started in the 1980s, the Hungarian population of the Eastern Imperial Eagle has come back from the brink of extinction, reaching 160 pairs by 2014. The whole Pannonian biogeographical region (which includes all of Hungary and parts of Slovakia, Romania, Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia and Ukraine) at the time holded some 220-270 breeding pairs of this priority raptor species (Annex 1 of the EU Birds Directive). However, its small population is still vulnerable. Predator persecution, especially from illegal poisoning, is the main threat for the Eastern Imperial Eagle in the Pannonian biogeographical region, representing more than 30% of known mortality causes. Persecution also affects other protected raptor species, including another Annex I-listed bird, the Saker Falcon. Combating illegal bird poisoning is a pillar of the anti-poison policy of the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the PannonEagle Life project was to increase the population of the Eastern Imperial Eagle in the Pannonian biogeographical region through a significant decrease in deaths from non-natural causes, i.e. primarily by persecution incidents.
Specific objectives encompassed:
- increasing the chance of detecting illegal activities and of successful prosecutions;
- increasing understanding of the real, minimal impact of raptors on game species and encourage raptor-friendly game management methods;
- raising awareness on the importance of conservation of the Eastern Imperial Eagle and of the possible consequences of persecution.
RESULTS
Result 1 – Steady increase in the Eastern Imperial Eagle population
During the project, the Eastern Imperial Eagle population increased in all five participating countries. The Pannonian breeding population increased from 270 to 482 breeding pairs between 2016 and 2022, while breeding success (the average number of chicks) also increased slightly.
Result 2 - Reduction of the non-natural mortality
In the first three years of the project, thanks to the detection work of the search dog units, birds of prey that died as a result of poisoning were found in a higher proportion than ever before, including Eastern Imperial Eagles. Despite all of this, the number of Eastern Imperial Eagles that died as a result of poisoning shows a decreasing trend over the entire project period.
Result 3. – Successful investigation - Offenders at court.
During the PannonEagle LIFE project, six criminal cases reached the court phase, where the key evidence was discovered through direct field detection by search dog units and police house searches.
Result 4. – PannonEagle LIFE and Policy
In Hungary, notable events saw the public outrage following the Tura poisoning case in 2021 and the press releases of MME Birdlife Hungary. After an amendment request from January 2022, the criminal code of animal cruelty and natural damage was amended by the classified case of poisoning, and the preparation of poisoning was also sanctioned.
In Austria, Birdlife Austria developed a guideline based on the introduction of the criminal threshold, which has since been used by the police and the courts.
In Slovakia, during a review of the conservation value of protected birds, the value of the Eastern Imperial Eagle and the Saker Falcon rose to 40,000 and 50,000 euros, respectively.
In the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Environmental Protection proposed the elevation of the Eastern Imperial Eagle to enhanced protected status.
Result 5. – Bird Crime Database
With the cooperation of the partner organisations, a regional database was set up that summarises registered cases of poisoning and hunting of birds of prey in the Pannonian region. The database contains data on 2,600 individuals or decoys, two-thirds of which are related to proven poisoning, 10% to suspected poisoning, and 5% to shooting crimes. The data records contain the location, time, type, toxicology test results, investigation phase and many other useful information.
Result 6. - Awareness raising in the online world
On the project website (www.imperialeagle.eu), all important information about Eastern Imperial Eagles, instances of poisoning and the project is available for download in five languages. The PannonEagle Facebook page has 6,500 followers and posts reach peaks at ten thousand accounts. The project team regularly reports on events related to the project, and collected nearly 137 news articles on websites and more than 170 Facebook posts. 97,000 people were reached by one piece of news on the online interfaces created by the project.
