In the past days we released another rehabilitated birds back into the wild. Three out of four Common Kestrels were illegal hunting casualties recovered.
After receiving a report from the Litani River Authority, the Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) of the Middle East Sustainable Hunting Center (MESHC) and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) in partnership with the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) in cooperation with the general directorate of the Internal Security Forces, the Fish and Wildlife Unit of SPNL, and responsible hunters based in the Western Bekaa region, acted to free four common kestrels, a species of bird of prey. The kestrels were placed in the APU Center in Chtoura after their eyes were reopened, and they had been taken to the vet to make sure they are in good health and able to return to nature. Accordingly, three of them were freed in the Western Bekaa region.
It is important to note that the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) is seeking, together with its partners in the Egyptian Vulture New LIFE project, to periodically examine and monitor the the health of four previously rescued Egyptian vultures that are currently in the Luke Hoffman Hima Home in Kayfoun, and a decision will be taken to release one of the vultures, which is in perfectly good health. As for the other Vultures, it is likely that they will be sent back to Europe for breeding and rehabilitation during November 2021, after the preparation of all travel documents, medical reports and an export permit issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture, which is responsible for the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna – CITES, which regulates the transport and export of this rare bird species.
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon, the Lebanon partner of Birdlife International, implements a number of projects specialized in protecting migratory birds, including the Migratory Soaring Birds Project funded by The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and The Egyptian Vulture New LIFE Project funded by the EU’s LIFE Programme Union and the co-financing AG Leventis Foundation, Green Fund and the MAVA Foundation, as well as the project for safe paths for the migration of birds in the Mediterranean, funded by MAVA Foundation.
