• A pair of young eagles can fetch 10,000 euros on the black market •
Wildlife conservation organisation SEO/BirdLife has denounced the ongoing disruption of the breeding cycle of Iberian imperial eagles by poachers who raid the endangered species’ nests in Spain order to steal eggs and young chicks for re-sale at thousands of dollars on the international black market.
Acording to SEO/BirdLife, an increase in poacher activity in recent years can be traced to budget cuts in government wildlife vigilance programs since Spain’s economic crisis erupted in 2007.
While 450 pairs of the endangered Iberian imperial eagle continue to breed in Spain, the wildlife NGO says that the increased poaching activity threatens to disrupt the endangered species’ breeding cycle, with little risk of detection and prosecution for poachers incentivized by the current asking price of 10,000 euros on the international black market for a healthy pair of the young eagles.
► Read More in Spanish at EFEVerde and Europa Press…
