After the killing in Sicily of an extremely rare Egyptian vulture, an osprey has also been shot — a specially protected species. Lipu and Wwf are calling for an immediate suspension of hunting across the entire island.
Poachers with a trigger-happy streak are running rampant in Sicily. It seems that in that area poaching is the norm, and by now anything with wings that flies gets shot at. The latest victim is a young osprey (Pandion haliaetus), struck by shotgun pellets in the locality of Torrenova, in the province of Messina. The bird of prey was rescued and is in a very serious condition at a wildlife recovery centredel dipartimento sviluppo rurale di Messina, gestito dall'associazione Man. Da quanto si apprende in una nota diffusa dal Wwf, il giovane esemplare era in volo durante la sua prima rotta migratoria.
Classified as "least concern" on the Red List of species drawn up by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the osprey is nonetheless a protected species and therefore cannot be hunted. And it has not nested in Sicily since 1969. Even the Italian Hunting Federation lists it under "specially protected fauna". The osprey in question is in fact protected by:
The incident comes after the extremely serious killing of an Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) on 9 September, approximately 10 kilometres from Mazara del Vallo. Clara, as the bird was named, was a female born in captivity as part of the Life Egyptian vulture project, aimed at the conservation of the Egyptian vulture and developed in Italy and the Canary Islands with co-funding from the European Union. The Egyptian vulture is a species at risk of extinction and considered endangered on the Red List. Clara had recently been released together with Bianca in the Murgia Materana natural park in Basilicata by the association Cerm (Centro rapaci minacciati), which carries out the project in collaboration with Ispra (Istituto superiore per la protezione e la ricerca ambientale).
"The Egyptian vulture is a small vulture that risks becoming extinct in Italy," writes Cerm. "Just over ten pairs still nest in our country, concentrated in just two southern regions (Basilicata and Sicily). For years we have been trying to support this threatened population by releasing young individuals born in captivity. Clara was equipped with a monitoring device that made it possible to track her movements continuously and know her precise location." But it was not enough to protect her from the seven lead pellets that struck her.
The Wwf has taken an extremely firm stance, calling — given the recurrence of these incidents — for "hunting activity to be suspended". It is also calling for "an immediate task force against poachers to be set up, in order to identify and punish those responsible for these heinous crimes against nature". Lipu takes the same view, adding, in the words of Marco Gustin, species and research manager, that "this is a species of the utmost naturalistic significance, at risk of extinction in Italy, and the subject of considerable conservation efforts. The Egyptian vulture, Europe's only migratory vulture, is the raptor species at the highest risk of extinction in our country, with only 10 pairs present on national territory. Losing even a single individual means recording extremely serious damage to protection efforts".