“Although the use of poisoned baits has been declared illegal since 1993, unfortunately it is still a common practice in the Greek countryside”, the country’s largest environmental organizations emphasize in their statement, on the occasion of February 22nd, the National Day of Action Against Poisoned Baits.

As they state, “poisoned baits mainly target wildlife (bear, wolf, wild boar, badger, fox, ferret), either as an act of self-righteousness after some damage has been caused to agricultural production or livestock or as a way to avoid such damages. There are not a few cases related to revenge and personal disputes between the owners of the animals and the users of the land in a given area, with the victims being working dogs (sheepdogs, hounds, truffle dogs)”.

And they point out that “since both the baits themselves and the poisoned animal corpses can be consumed by scavengers, eventually species such as the vulture, the bald eagle, the golden eagle, the black vulture, etc. are killed.”

As the organizations explain, “the use of poisoned bait (nest) to kill animals in the countryside is a complex problem in which various social groups with different motivations are involved and interact. At the same time, it is an illegal act that seriously damages both indirectly and directly the natural environment and humans. Recently, some steps have been taken to deal with the phenomenon in our country, such as the signing of a Joint Ministerial Decision (JDA) to deal with it, but also informing citizens about the problem by establishing February 22 as “National Day of Action against of poisoned baits”.

“A crime difficult to detect”

Representatives of the environmental organization “Kallisto” characterized the use of poisoned baits (foles) as an environmental crime that is difficult to detect in the Greek countryside.

In fact, Mrs. Loukia Argyriadou mentioned that poisoned – mainly from pesticides – baits are the number one cause of death for herding dogs, which are valuable partners for those who work in the countryside.

In a press conference, Loukia Argyriadou and Giorgos Theodoridis from “Kallisto” explained that the dogs in the Detection Units are not a panacea for the problem, but environmental education and training of farmers and hunters on the issue is needed.

It also needs immediate help, through compensation, to people who have suffered damage from carnivorous animals, such as wolves, badgers, foxes, ferrets or bears.

The compensation system can be improved because it is slow, the money is little and the competent agency is understaffed, Mr. Theodoridis emphasized.

However, despite the positive developments for the recognition of the problem, according to the representatives of the organization, the most basic step to combat the phenomenon, which is the drafting and implementation of Local Action Plans by the competent Forestry Services, has not been taken.

Although a relevant Circular has been sent to the Forestry Departments, about a month ago, by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, however, according to “Kallisto”, there is no deadline for the drafting of the Action Plans, nor a clear definition for their funding.

It is noted that a year ago, the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Ministry of Rural Development and Food jointly declared February 22 as “National Action Day against Poisoned Baits”, placing under their auspices all the events that will take place every year such day, in collaboration with environmental organizations.