The Italian government against wildlife

11.06.2025
The Italian government is planning a significant softening of nature conservation law. Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, a passionate hunter, has presented comprehensive changes to the hunting legislation. The right-wing government wants to authorise the trapping of wild birds with nets in order to use them as live decoys. Currently, bird trapping is completely prohibited, and the use of decoys is only permitted for hunting seven species. In future, decoys will be allowed to be used to hunt all 47 huntable bird species. Our Italian members are joining forces with nature conservation organisations across Italy to prevent the proposed changes. Today, we have published a video in which critical voices from the nature conservation community have their say and call on Parliament to vote against the plans.
Harrier protection in the Rhineland.

29.05.2025
When marsh harriers and Montagu's harriers return from their African wintering grounds in spring, cereal fields are at an ideal height for nesting. The problem is that the young birds do not fledge early enough and end up under the combine harvester. To prevent this, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter has been running a harrier project in the Zülpicher Börde. Together with local ornithologists, authorities and farmers, we search for and mark the nests of the now rare birds of prey, thus saving the chicks from certain death. In May 2025, we used a drone to find six nests of the marsh harrier and one of the highly endangered Montagu's harrier. This year is the first time that the Postcode Lottery has sponsored the campaign.
Find out more about our Harrier Protection Project here.
82 poachers taken out of circulation!

25.05.2025
The last migratory birds have now arrived here, meaning that the bird migration in Europe has come to an end. From mid-February to mid-May, over 70 nature lovers worked with us to secure the dangerous paths of the animals. At the bird protection camps organised by the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) in France, Italy, Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Lebanon, we caught 82 poachers, while the police and hunting authorities were able to recover 568 traps (mainly limesticks), 158 nets, 6 hunting weapons, 240 rounds of ammunition and 33 electronic decoys on the basis of our information.
The spring operations were financed exclusively by donations - thank you very much for your support!
Spring operations in Italy: 12 poachers caught

22.05.2025
In Italy, we caught 12 poachers in a good dozen missions from February to May. In northern Italy, we convicted three animal dealers who were illegally offering wild birds for sale. On the islands of Ponza and Ischia, two people were caught trapping birds by the authorities following our tip-offs. Teams were also deployed on the Strait of Messina in southern Italy to take action against illegal spring hunting. Thanks to our preliminary work, the police were able to confiscate a total of 21 nets, 130 bird traps, 3 decoys and 2 hunting weapons. Around 300 birds were confiscated from illegal holdings and are now waiting to be released into the wild.
Find out more about our bird protection campaigns and operations in Italy here.
Spring anti-poaching actions in Lebanon complete

29.04.2025
This spring, CABS teams carried out several operations in Lebanon together with our partners from MESHC and SPNL. Illegal bird shooting and trapping of protected species in the Cedar State continues to present a huge wildlife conservation crisis for migratory birds. In the north of the country alone, we found over 50 white storks shot within just a few days. In one particularly serious case, a poacher was filmed by us shooting down a Lesser spotted eagle and a detailed casefile of evidence reported to the Environmental Prosecutors office (Watch the video here). We were also able to dismantle a total of 41 mist-nets and 270 limesticks and seize them together with the police. We are planning to deploy several teams in Lebanon this autumn to cover the entire peak migration period.
Spring camp in Malta complete – 31 poachers convicted

12.05.2025
From the beginning of March to early May, 3 CABS teams comprised of 25 volunteers were on duty in Malta to take action against illegal bird trapping with clap-nets and the shooting of protected species. As a direct result of our field investigations we were able to catch and convict 25 bird trappers and 6 hunters. The Environmental Police (EPU) confiscated 45 clap-nets, 11 electronic decoys, a mist-net and a cage trap. Our action also lead to the confiscation of over 100 live decoys. In Malta, bird trapping and turtle dove hunting in particular have gotten out of control. The shooting of birds of prey, on the other hand, continues to decline – this spring, none of our teams registered a shooting of large migratory birds. Our action will continue on the Mediterranean island in August.
Action against migratory bird poaching on Zakynthos.

07.05.2025
UPDATE - The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) spring bird protection camp has now been running for the past month on the popular holiday island of Zakynthos, Greece. During that time, our teams have faced a brutal assault and documented dozens of cases of illegal shooting of protected migratory birds during closed season, with species such as Golden orioles, Bee-eaters and Turtle dove being particularly affected. So far this spring, 19 poachers have been reported to the authorities and several suspects identified and summoned. However, it’s clear that more support is needed from the mainland to tackle the situation proportionately.
Read today's full Press Release here.
Milestone anniversary - CABS turns 50!

21.04.2025
When the first newspaper reports about the unbelievable extent of migratory bird hunting in Italy appeared in the mid-1970s, a small group of bird conservationists in Berlin decided to take action. On 1 March 1975, they founded the Committee Against Bird Slaughter. Today, half a century later, we are a Europe-wide organisation and a leader in the fight against bird-trapping and illegal hunting. From Spain in the west to Lebanon in the east, we now safeguard the migration routes and resting places of our migratory birds.
Read more about the origins of our organisation and its successes and challenges here.
Lebanon: Golden eagle released - watch new video

07.04.2025
A Golden Eagle which was being illegally held in a concrete enclosure in Beirut is back in the wild. After several weeks of treatment, the bird was deemed fit for release by our team vet and set free in the mountains of Shouf Biosphere Reserve Reserve. Staff from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), together with our Lebanese partners from Middle Eastern Sustainable Hunting Centre MESHC Anti-Poaching Unit and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon, watched in awe and admiration as the magnificent bird spread its wings and started its new life in freedom.
Your donation makes the difference!
Your donation will enable us to fund our campaigns and bird protection camps throughout Europe, to keep up the fight for migratory birds. CABS is almost exclusively financed with private donations, from nature and animal lovers, as well as foundations and nature conservation associations. In order to stay independent, we do not receive public funds and we refuse business sponsorships. CABS is recognised as non-profit, thus, donations are tax-deductible. For a donation of 25 € or more, you will receive a donation receipt at the beginning of the following year.
