{"id":6876,"date":"2023-02-21T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balkandetoxlife.eu\/?p=6876"},"modified":"2025-03-04T09:21:43","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T07:21:43","slug":"how-can-electric-fences-help-save-vultures-from-unintentional-poisoning-in-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balkandetoxlife.eu\/mk\/2023\/02\/21\/how-can-electric-fences-help-save-vultures-from-unintentional-poisoning-in-greece\/","title":{"rendered":"How can electric fences help save vultures from unintentional poisoning in Greece"},"content":{"rendered":"

How can electric fences support the recovery of vultures? Vultures face a significant threat from unintentional poisoning in the Balkans and worldwide. To tackle this issue, our partners focus on addressing the root cause. They are helping farmers in Greece prevent damages caused by animals on their livestock or crops through the installation of electric fences since human-wildlife conflicts are considered the main driver behind the illegal use of poison baits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Installing electric fences in Greece to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts and illegal wildlife poisoning helps vultures \u00a9 WWF Greece<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Poison baits: an unselective practice that puts many species at risk <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The use of poisons to target wild or domestic animals has a long history worldwide. In Europe, poison baits are mainly placed to kill animals considered undesirable such as predators and pests that may inflict damage to livestock and crops. Although it is an illegal practice across the EU, is still carried on in many places by local people, who find it an easy and quick way to resolve wildlife conflicts. But this is not a solution. It is a dangerous and unselective practice that puts both domestic and wild animals at risk, negatively affecting many protected and endangered species like vultures. Vultures are caught in this vicious circle, either by directly feeding on the poisoned bait, or indirectly, by eating other animal carrion that died from poisoning. In fact, this is the biggest threat they face in the Balkans and worldwide as stated in the Vulture Multi-species Action Plan (Vulture MsAP)<\/a>, co-developed by the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) and endorsed by the Convention for Migratory Species. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Greece, the use of poison baits was banned in 1993 but it is still a recurrent practice. According to the Balkan Vultures Poison Study 2022<\/a>, between 2000-2020, poisoning caused the mortality of 29 species of wild animals in Greece, with the worst effects on avian scavengers, primarily Griffon Vultures, killing 213 individuals within 169 separate poisoning and probable poisoning incidents. Additionally, a total of 19 Cinereous Vultures were found dead within 15 separate incidents, and 19 Egyptian Vultures within 12 poisoning and probable poisoning incidents. However, the species with the highest mortality by poison baits were the Red Fox, which is often the target, with 348 casualties within 110 separate events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electric fencing as a successful measure to prevent human-wildlife conflict <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Over the last decade, many LIFE projects for the protection of Griffon, Egyptian and Cinereous Vulture populations have been implementing measures to reduce human-wildlife conflict and mortality causes. To tackle the threat of illegal poisoning, serious efforts are carried on, such as awareness-raising campaigns<\/a> as a means to give visibility to this problem and encourage citizens to report on local incidents.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, a WWF Greece team organised a wide distribution of electric fences in Rodopi and Evros in Greece, which are important foraging regions for the Cinereous Vulture colony at Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park<\/a>, which still fall victim to poisoning incidents<\/a>. The team donated electric fences to farmers and livestock breeders whose crops and livestock were damaged by stray dogs, wild boars, wolves, jackals, foxes and other animals. This preventative action aimed to reduce such damages to mitigate wildlife-human conflict and help eliminate the illegal use of poison baits. In total, 47 electric fences were installed for 25 farmers and 22 livestock breeders in 42 villages within the framework of two LIFE projects (Egyptian Vulture New Life<\/a> and Life Re-Vultures<\/a>) between 2019 and 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Map showing the electric fences installed by WWF Greece<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even though electric fencing is an effective measure against wildlife-caused damage, few farmers adopt it. Unawareness and a wrong idea about the cost of its implementation, seem to be the main reasons for farmers\u2019 resistance to implementing this preventive measure. Therefore, in 75% of the fences installed, the local WWF team helped farmers to get familiar with the infrastructure and its operation, enabling them to operate it autonomously. Depending on the size, an electric fence powered by a small solar panel can cost around \u20ac500, its implementation is an easy process and the fence can be dismantled and rebuilt in a different location.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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