News from Epeiros

23.02.2013

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The best approach in order to increase the chances of saving the last Egyptian vulture pairs in Greece is to work hand in hand with those people who are in close contact with Nature due to the place they live or their job. With this in mind, we are working to create a network of people from the rural world who will fight against the illegal use of poison in order to protect not only this rare vulture but also other birds and mammals (both wild and domestic) who fall victims to poison too. This action takes place in Epeiros, one of the last refuges for the Egyptian vulture in Greece. More specifically, the action is being implemented in the following SPA: Tymfi mountains, Central Zagori and Eastern Mitsikeli mountains and Paramithia mountains and Kalamas and Acheronta gorges.

During the last year, we visited more than 80 people and we discussed with them the changes agriculture and livestock breeding have gone through the last decades. Among all these changes, the unobtrusive decrease of birds of prey, including of course that of the well-known Egyptian vulture or "Cuckoo's horse" -as it is known in the region of Epeiros-, was acknowledge with sadness by most of the persons we addressed. Practically everybody agreed on the negative effect the illegal use of poison has been having on these birds in the last decades. The oldest persons had a lot to say when comparing two different worlds: that of today and that of their childhood days. In those times, large numbers of vultures around the carcass of a dead animal was a common sight, as opposed to what happens nowadays. Back then, people waited - and still wait- for the return of the "Cuckoo's horse" at the end of March indicating the end of the winter.

The enthusiasm of "our people", the members of the network, is expected to bear fruit this year. These people have expressed their rejection to the use of illegal baits in the areas where they live and work, giving us hope and bringing us a step closer to a safer environment free of poison, where men and nature can live side by side without being a threat to each other.

In this day and age, the creation of a network of people with a common objective, especially in the highlands of Greece, is no easy task. However, we have taken the first step and it seems to be a firm one...

 

Haritakis Papaioannou

Local Anti-poison Officer in Epeiros

 

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