The League Pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) announced last week that an adult Egyptian vulture found dead in the Pyrenees Atlantiques region in late June had been poisoned.
Toxicological analysis done revealed that the bird had ingested a forbidden insecticide (made illegal in 2008), already linked to a few previous cases of poisoning in 2009 and 2012.
The LPO believes that the Egyptian vulture was a victim of some poisoned bait laid out, or some animal that had died after consuming the poisoned bait.
France has only 95 pairs of Egyptian vulture, of which more than 70 in the French Pyrenees – it is actually the only country in Europe where this endangered species is slowly increasing, after considerable conservation effort
The LPO had pressed charges, and an investigation is on-going – the destruction of a protected species in France is liable to a fine of up to 15,000€ and a sentence of one year imprisonment. See the LPO press released below.
Press release LPO cp_lpo_vautour_percnoptere_mort_par_empo Adobe Acrobat Document 401.8 KB Download
