A young, strictly protected Saker Falcon was shot by unknown perpetrators in the Hortobágy region, in the east of Hungary. The bird, which had a Bulgarian ring, was found unable to fly by the Ranger Service of the Hortobágy National Park Directorate (HNPD). The incident occurred within the operating area of the hunting association called ‘Hortobágyi Földtulajdonosi Vadásztársaság’.
The responsible ranger from HNPD discovered the injured bird of prey on the ground, unable to take flight. The falcon was transported to the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden, where X-ray images confirmed that it had been shot with a pellet gun. As a result, the bird’s wing was shattered, rendering it flightless, and one of its legs was also injured. Veterinarians at the Budapest Zoo stabilized the bird’s condition and surgically removed one pellet. The falcon is currently under quarantine and observation.
MME BirdLife Hungary immediately contacted their Bulgarian colleagues, who identified the falcon based on its ring. It turned out that the young female, named “Monika,” had been released earlier this year in Bulgaria by the Green Balkans team, as part of their reintroduction program. The case is particularly disheartening, as the Saker Falcon population in Bulgaria had become extinct as a breeding species by 2006, with the first breeding pair recorded again only in 2018. The ongoing reintroduction program is currently the only chance for the species to be re-established in the country. In addition to the reintroduction efforts, the LIFE for Falcons project (LIFE20 NAT/BG/001162), coordinated by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, is also working to restore the local Saker Falcon population.
Since the 1980s, a total of 23 Saker Falcons are known to have been shot in Hungary. Although the number of such incidents has declined over the past 15 years, sadly, this strictly protected species still occasionally falls victim to illegal actions.
The recently recovered falcon is still receiving veterinary care, but due to the severity of its injuries, there is a real possibility that it may never be able to fly again. The Hortobágy National Park Directorate has filed a criminal complaint with the police in the matter. The area where the injured falcon was found is one of the key sites of the LIFE SakerRoads project (LIFE21/NAT/HU/101074704), supported by the European Union and the Hungarian state. The project works to protect Saker Falcons in Hungary’s Northern Great Plain region.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. A few weeks ago, another strictly protected bird of prey – an Imperial Eagle equipped with a GPS transmitter – was also likely shot near the town of Kiskunfélegyháza. Although the carcass was never recovered, the GPS tracker was found, having been removed and hidden by the perpetrator over 10 kilometers from the original location, deep in dense underbrush. Data from the transmitter showed the bird perished within the operating area of the hunting association of the ’Páka Vadásztársaság’. The GPS device was later found at the boundary of two neighboring hunting areas, suggesting it had been transported there by road and dirt track.
These recent events are not isolated: they follow a widely reported case from April 2021, when a Cinereous Vulture – one of only three confirmed records of the species in Hungary since 1932 – was shot. That bird also originated from Bulgaria. In that case, charges were filed against a guest hunter and a professional hunter, and in November 2023, the Kisvárda District Court sentenced both individuals to suspended prison terms, with one of them having their hunting license revoked for five years.
We urge law enforcement agencies to conduct effective investigations in this and similar cases of environmental crime and to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice as soon as possible.
