Man detained over poisoning of vultures in the Balkan Mountains

A 36-year-old man has been detained by police in Karlovo over the poisoning of eight vultures in the foothills of Mount Botev in the Balkan Mountains. During an operation carried out by officers from the Karlovo District Police Department and the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime, evidence of the birds’ poisoning was found. The suspect has confessed to the crime.

“For more than 30 years, Bulgarian NGOs have been working to restore the vulture population, which had disappeared from the country, leaving only a small population in the Rhodope Mountains. These efforts have required enormous resources and funding,” Anton Stanchev, Director of Biodiversity, Control and Protection at Central Balkan National Park, told the Bulgarian National Radio.

According to Stanchev, consideration should be given to the future development of livestock farming in the national park. He said tensions arise over the allocation of grazing land because there is not enough of it.

“We need to seriously consider whether mountain livestock farming should continue to develop within national parks and, if so, in what form. Bulgaria is one of the leading countries in the European Union when it comes to nature. Let us make an effort to protect this wealth, because if we continue to treat nature this way, a time will come when we simply no longer have this natural heritage,” he said.

Edited by Miglena Ivanova