Golden eagle shot dead in Crete
The 4th shooting incident of a protected bird of prey on the island of Crete in a few weeks!
Just a few weeks after the killing of "Lambros" and before the sadness and anger caused to all those who love nature and respect wildlife begin to subside, another iconic bird of prey of Crete, this time a Golden Eagle, got shot.
The killing of the bird is the fourth known such incident in involving protected birds of prey in Crete in recent weeks: the known victims include a Bonelli’s Eagle with a satellite transmitter, a Honey Buzzard and an Eleonora's falcon located now in a Wildlife rehabilitation Center.
The dead eagle, was located on October 6th between Kapetaniana and Loukia in the Irakleio regional unit, Crete, by a team member of the LIFE Bonelli EastMed Project. The protected eagle was born about a year and a half ago in the Eastern Asterousia Mountains and had been tagged with a satellite transmitter to monitor its movements.
The autopsy at the Veterinary Service of Heraklion shown that the young Golden eagle had been shot in the air from a relatively close distance. Also, the two rings that had been placed on the bird for scientific purposes by the Natural History Museum of Crete had also been removed, possibly as a trophy by the person who shot it.
By order of the prosecutor, an investigation is carried out at various levels, so that with the help of technology and the utilization of all available information, the circle of suspects is reduced and the culprit is found. The Forest Directorate of the Heraklion and police are participating in the investigation. An attempt is also being made to unify the case of the murder of the Golden Eagle with the murder of the Bonelli’s Eagle, since we are now talking about crimes in a row and continuously in the same area.
Both the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and the Bonelli’s Eagle (Aquila fasciata) that was found shot in a nearby area in the same municipality (Gortyn, Heraklion), are strictly protected species by Greek, EU and international law (Birds Directive 2009/147/EC, Berne Convention, Bonn Convention).
The protection of the nature of Crete and the preservation of the natural heritage of the island is in our hands!
We invite anyone who has information that may help to identify the perpetrator to contact at the Miron Forestry, Crete at tel. +30 28920 23028 or at the Forest Directorate of the Heraklion, Crete at tel. +30 2810 264942.
