National Strategy against Wildlife Poisoning in Greece

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The illegal use of poison baits is quite widespread in Greece. It is used either to kill wildlife causing losses in crops or livestock, as a way to eradicate feral dogs, but also to "solve" personal disputes. It is an extremely complex issue with negative impact on biodiversity and protected wildlife, but also dangerous to public health owing to the highly toxic substances -and on most occasions illegal- used in the production of poison baits. Local economy is also affected by this illegal practice.

The use of poison baits is strictly forbidden by the Greek law due to its impact on protected species and biodiversity in general. Different specific provisions regulating the ban on the use of poison baits can be found in the Greek law (Ntemiri & Saravia 2016). Despite this, a single common policy in the form of National Strategy is needed to effectively address this complex problem. The Strategy will set the objectives and will coordinate the work of all relevant authorities and stakeholders, and will be implemented by means of a National Action Plan against Wildlife Poisoning.

The LIFE Project "The Return of the Neophron" has submitted to the Greek Ministry of Environment a draft of the proposed National Strategy.