\u2018Astronomical\u2019 scale of massacre<\/h2>\n
The researchers identified close to 30,000 birds belonging to 212 species in 1,844 photographs, with nearly 20 birds in each on average. The IUCN Red List identifies 19 of these species as endangered, vulnerable or near threatened globally, and 23 as considered threatened in Europe. Among the protected birds, barn swallows (Hirundo rustica), Eurasian blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) and European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) were the most-seen birds in poachers\u2019 photos.<\/p>\n
A quarter of all the analyzed images had at least one raptor, with the European honey-buzzard (Pernis apivorus) being the most conspicuous. Large soaring birds, such as the white stork, black stork (Ciconia nigra) and the great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) were also commonly seen. Poachers even hunted endangered species such as the Egyptian vulture, steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) and great bustard (Otis tarda).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most heavily affected raptor species is the honey buzzard, which is also something we witness directly out in the field during our bird protection camps,\u201d study co-author Lloyd Scott, from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), a German antipoaching NGO that\u2019s been involved in Lebanon since 2013, tells Mongabay by email. He says he finds it \u201cstaggering\u201d that 232 images analyzed in the study show 890 dead honey-buzzards \u2014 around 18 times the entire U.K. breeding population, which is fewer than 50 pairs.<\/p>\n
The common quail (Coturnix coturnix), categorized as near threatened in Europe but legal to hunt in Lebanon since 2017, was the most prevalent bird in photos posted on Facebook and Instagram. The photos showed that most poachers had exceeded their bag limit of 20 birds, or killed the birds during the closed season, or did so before 2017, when all bird hunting was banned across the country. That would make those kills illegal.<\/p>\n While poachers mostly hunted birds, photos also showed \u201ctrophies\u201d of 15 mammal species, including protected ones such as the Eurasian badger (Meles meles), Indian porcupine (Hystrix indica), and the near threatened striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena). Almost half of the mammal carcasses were carnivores. In addition, the photos showed carcasses of six reptile species, all of which are illegal to hunt.<\/p>\n The \u201cdigital trophies\u201d also captured evidence of other illegal activities, such as the possession of live individuals of protected species, minors wielding shotguns, the use of illegal hunting weapons, bird trapping, and the selling of protected species.<\/p>\n The massive scale of poaching in Lebanon, which doesn\u2019t spare breeding pairs or young birds, also hurts conservation efforts in Europe that cost millions of dollars, Raine says. \u201cThese countries are putting their money into the conservation of these species, [but] have no control once those birds leave their borders \u2026 so they just get annihilated on the way out.\u201d<\/p>\n The scale of illegal hunting revealed in the study is \u201cjust the tip of the iceberg,\u201d Raine says, adding that such killings are happening throughout the migration season across the country. \u201cIt\u2019s an astronomical number \u2026 It\u2019s a whole bunch of illegal actions that are being used to target a whole bunch of protected species in very large numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n Ornithologist Michel Sawan, president of the NGO Lebanese Association for Migratory Birds (LAMB), deals with the issue of mass slaughter in the country firsthand. Every day during the migration season, he\u2019s out chasing hunters away, looking for injured birds they leave behind to die, patrolling with police officers \u2014 and sometimes even risking his own life.<\/p>\n \u201cThe major problem that we are facing is the poor enforcement of the law,\u201d he says, adding that since there\u2019s no dedicated \u201cenvironment police\u201d in Lebanon, much of the enforcement falls on the shoulders of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the national police. Other ministries, he says, are \u201chelpless\u201d unless the ISF enforces the antipoaching laws. Even if they did, he says the fines are so low that they don\u2019t deter the hunters.<\/p>\n \u201cIf anyone commits an environmental crime [such as] breaking the law of hunting, the fine is $5; if you want to buy 25 gunshots, they are $9,\u201d says Sawan, who wasn\u2019t involved in the study. \u201cSo, this is not good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe hunting law is not worth the paper it\u2019s written on,\u201d adds Scott, alluding to the blatant disregard the poachers have for the law. \u201cTo tackle the root of the problem, both education initiatives and stricter enforcement resources are urgently needed within Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n Sawan says efforts to get social media platforms such as Meta and TikTok to take down poachers\u2019 posts of their kills have been unsuccessful. \u201cWe report all the violations, but they don\u2019t delete the accounts or the video, and this is what encourages [poachers] to post more,\u201d he says. \u201cIf Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or other social media companies can control them, I think many of them will stop killing these birds.\u201d<\/p>\n Birds across the world are already in crisis due to habitat loss, illegal capture, poisoning and a host of other factors. Illegal hunting of migratory birds on their flyways adds to this long list of threats they face.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an international issue,\u201d Raine says. \u201cIf you\u2019re interested in bird conservation, and you want to see bird populations increase in Europe, you have to pay attention to what\u2019s happening on the migration routes.\u201d<\/p>\n Brochet, A., Van Den Bossche, W., Jones, V. R., Arnardottir, H., Damoc, D., Demko, M., \u2026 Butchart, S. H. (2017). Illegal killing and taking of birds in Europe outside the Mediterranean: Assessing the scope and scale of a complex issue. Bird Conservation International, 29(1), 10-40. doi:10.1017\/s0959270917000533<\/p>\n Raine, A. F., Gregg, J., Scott, L., Hirschfeld, A., Ramadan-Jaradi, G., & Bamberghi, F. (2025). Digital trophies: Using social media to assess wildlife crime in Lebanon. Oryx, 1-9. doi:10.1017\/s0030605324000814<\/p>\n This article<\/a> by Spoorthy Raman was first published by Mongabay.com on 17 April 2025. Lead Image: A common kestrel, one of the raptors frequently hunted down by poachers in Lebanon. Image by Etienne Gosse via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).<\/i><\/p>\n Wildlife continues to face threats, which include hunting, poaching, illegal trade in animal products, habitat loss as well as a rapidly changing climate.<\/p>\n Become a Wildlife Champion by supporting our conservation partners<\/a> with a monthly donation as little as $1.<\/p>\nLack of law enforcement a bottleneck to conservation<\/h2>\n
Citations:<\/h2>\n
Act to protect wildlife<\/h2>\n