Vervolging van roofvogels in Nederland in 2015

In 2015, persecution in The Netherlands was recorded via autopsies of dead raptors found in the field (and suspected of being poisoned or shot), and by checking nests for human-caused failures. Poisoning (2x) and shooting (2x) were diagnosed as causes of 66 death by the Central Veterinary Institute. Deliberately disturbed nests were recorded 40 times. This occurred throughout the country, but mostly in Friesland (Table 1). Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus, Goshawk Accipiter gentilis and Buzzard Buteo buteo were the usual victims. Based on the sample of 3442 raptor nests, and the relative frequency of species-specific nest destruction, it is calculated that at least 258 nests must have been intentionally destroyed in 2015. This extrapolated total is a minimum, because the causes of many suspect nest failures could not be unequivocally determined.