Around one dozen of protected birds of prey succumbed to poisoning in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County. Unknown persons put out a chicken head, dipped in poison, in a seven-hectare swampy patch of forest, near Kisvárda.
One of the 11 dead Buzzards (Photo: HNPI archive).
One of the associates of the Ranger Service of the Hortobágyi National Park found the bodies of 11 Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo), 1 Great Tit (Parus major) and 1 Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) on March 14th, 2012. The combined conservation value of the birds exceeds 100.000 forints. Birds were found in cramped position, sometimes just a few centimeters from the bait, indicating poisoning. Toxins are not only dangerous to wild animals, but also can reach humans after getting in the food-chain. Members of the Ranger Service prosecuted for damaging nature, animal cruelty and misuse of poison at the Kisvárda Police Headquarters.
Source: Hortobágyi National Park