LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report
The LIFE EUROKITE project (LIFE18 NAT/AT/000048) is a cross-border protection project for the red kite and other raptor species in Europe. Within the LIFE EUROKITE project the core idea is to use telemetry technology to identify the spatial habitat use of the target raptor species, quantify the key reasons of mortality of bird of prey species in the EU and reduce human-caused mortality, particularly illegal activities such as poisoning.
Between 2013 and 2024, 3,554 individuals of 7 raptor species (3,161 red kites, 97 black kites, 43 booted eagles, 52 honey buzzards, 79 imperial eagles, 22 ospreys and 100 white-tailed eagles) were tagged with solar-powered GPS satellite tags in 19 countries across Europe with the help of many project partners and cooperation partners. From this a total of 1,795 individuals (1,680 red kites, 37 black kites, 18 honey buzzards, 29 imperial eagles and 31 white-tailed eagles) were tagged within the LIFE EUROKITE project.
From the 3,554 tagged birds a total of 1,623 died so far. Of these, a total of 1,594 individuals (1,480 red kites, 13 black kites, 14 booted eagles, 17 honey buzzards, 32 imperial eagles, 8 ospreys, 30 white-tailed eagles) died in the respective country where we also detected bird persecution within our sample. The first results of the LIFE EUROKITE project show, that 320 (20.08 %) of the tagged birds (293; 19.80 % red kites, 3; 23.08 % black kites, 1; 7.14 % booted eagles, 2; 11.76 % honey buzzards, 12; 37.50 % imperial eagles, 1; 12.50 % ospreys, 8; 26.67 % white-tailed eagles) were victims of illegal activities in 24 countries (10/01/2025). Poisoning (n= 238; 74.38 % of illegal activities) was by far the most common illegal act that caused the death of these tagged birds. The most used poison was Carbofuran which is banned in the EU since 2008. The second most common illegal act that caused the death of these tagged birds was shooting (66 individuals; 20.63 % of illegal activities). When extrapolating the data on illegal bird persecution over the past five years (2020–2025), it is estimated that approximately 68.060 red kites have died as a result of persecution. Of the 320 birds that were tagged and illegally killed, only 8 cases resulted in a conviction for bird persecution.
Due to varying numbers of tagged individuals and differing red kite population densities across countries, the results may vary considerably. Consequently, these findings do not allow for conclusions regarding the statistical frequency of illegal activities relative to red kite density in any given country.
Bird persecution in Europe persists all over Europe. Effective conservation requires stronger law enforcement, public education, international cooperation, and better tools like GPS tracking to detect and prosecute offenders. Political commitment across countries is crucial, along with harmonized laws, stricter penalties, and national action plans with clear goals. Raising awareness through initiatives like the “European Day Against Criminal Poisoning of Wildlife” and systematic data collection can help inform both the public and policymakers. Finally, stronger cross-border collaboration and support for monitoring and reporting systems are essential to address bird persecution at a European level.
More information on https://stopwildlifepoisoning.eu/
Reports
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 1 Overall
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 2 Austria
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 3 Belgium
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 4 Croatia
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 5 Czech Republic
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 6 Denmark
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 7 France
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 8 Germany
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 9 Greece
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 10 Hungary
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 11 Italy
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 12 Luxembourg
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 13 Netherlands
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 14 Poland
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 15 Portugal
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 16 Serbia
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 17 Slovakia
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 18 Spain
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 19 Switzerland
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 20 Turkey
LIFE EUROKITE Crime Report Part 21 outside Europe