A Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata) has been shot in the Tavira area and later died of its wounds in the care of the Recovery Center in Olhão.
The eagle was found by member of the public who phoned the GNR unit responsible for the protection of nature and the environment.
A report by local news service Sul Informação stated that the adult female had a badly broken left wing and when X-rayed was found to have 12 lead pellets in its body.
This eagle had traces of incubating its young which "eventually will starve to death in the nest, as it is unlikely that the male alone can feed and protect them."
Hunting is not legal at this time of year and the eagle is a protected species anyway, so it “could only have been killed intentionally," according to staff at the rescue centre who added that this case "is completely incomprehensible and regrettable."
Bonelli's eagle is a species strictly protected by national and international law and in Portugal carries an ‘endangered’ conservation status.
The population of Bonelli's eagle in southern Portugal is genetically distinct from those in Europe, so according to staff at the rescue centre, "the responsibility of Portuguese citizens in this eagle’s conservation is even greater."
