The veterinary drug that almost completely wiped out vultures in southern Asia has been found on sale in the EU.

The 21st Arms, Angling and Hunting International Exhibition was held at the HUNGEXPO Budapest Fair Center again, between February 13^th-16^th. MME also participated in this event with its HELICON LIFE+ Programme.

MME, in collaboration with the Hortobágyi, Bükki and Körös-Maros National Park Directorates, has announced its action of nest guarding again this year, in certain SPAs, within the framework of HELICON LIFE+ project.

Conservationists and filmmakers follow the lives of Imperial Eagles through hidden cameras from their warm and cozy homes. They are not alone. More than 90.000 other people also chose to watch their everyday life in the Jászság area. The cameras were deployed by MME and Filmjungle.eu Society in collaboration with Hortobágyi National Park. While watching the live show, filmmakers noticed something strange happening.

Raptor Conservation Department of MME will organize the 11th National Eagle Count between 17th and 19th of January, in collaboration with HELICON LIFE programme, national park directorates and other NGOs, as well.

Nowadays, web cameras enable us to get an insight of birds’ lives, like never before. Cameras play an important role in species protection and raise public awareness in relation to birds of prey. Helicon LIFE+ has also utilized this technology to fight against bird crime, especially poisoning.

Another case of bird crime was revealed again last week. A local hunter found a poisoned Imperial Eagle in very bad condition, in the Duna-Ipoly National Park. Due to the finder and conservation organizations acting quick, the bird’s life could be saved in the Budapest Zoo.

Positive trends may show in the procedure to stop bird crime and poaching: arraignment on nature damaging charges, final judgement in animal cruelty and arraignment on charges of animal cruelty. Conservation organizations and hunting associations welcome this development, as more than hundred cases remained unrevealed to which more than thousand birds fell victim.

Habitat degradation in agricultural areas is a common thing all over Europe. Changes in agrarian landscapes have induced irreversible processes in communities of different bird species, of which we already reported on our website. Earlier this was confined to Western Europe, but nowadays this phenomenon has reached Hungary as well, causing a reduction in populations of common birds in the past few decades.

Christina Avanzano visited Hungary within the framework of an international exchange programme between police services of the EU. She works for the Corpo Forestalle dello Stato (CFS) in Italy.