Poisoning (n=6, at least once with parathion; 10-15 still in analysis or at court, and therefore not yet available), shooting (n=7) and deliberate disturbances of nests (n=30) were recorded (Table 1), of which 40% in the province of Friesland. Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus, Goshawk Accipiter gentilis and Buzzard Buteo buteo were the usual victims, but also a Peregrine Falco peregrinus was shot. Based on the sample of 2915 nests of 12 species of raptors, and the relative frequency of species-specific nest destruction, it is calculated that at least 206 nests must have been intentionally destroyed in 2014. This total does not include the large number of nests, and nest habitats, that have been destroyed by forestry agencies (notably State Forestry: large-scale cutting of trees, also during the breeding season) and nature conservation societies. Nature management has increasingly become an activity that strives to convert existing habitats (especially forests) into something else. These activities result in the destruction of nests and habitats of hundreds of raptor pairs (plus other organisms). The combined activities of nature conservation bodies and forestry agencies are responsible for higher numbers of destroyed raptor nests than the combined efforts of traditional raptor persecution (poisoning, shooting, deliberate nest disturbance). The existing laws regarding nature protection are ignored or interpreted creatively.

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Werkgroep Roofvogels Nederland

R.G. Bijlsma, & P.W. van Tulden. (2015). Vervolging van roofvogels in Nederland in 2014. De Takkeling, 23(1), 52–60.