Regulation of carbofuran and its use to poison wildlife in the European Union and the rest of Europe - Carbofuran and Wildlife Poisoning: Global Perspectives and Forensic Approaches - page 165

Since sheep herders/farmers are not quickly or fully compensated for any losses/damage to their
crops, individuals take matters into their own hands. They put down poisoned bait on available
animal carcasses or on the remains of a slaughtered animal (usually a sheep) in an effort to rid
the area of an unwanted species. In 2005 and 2006, local activists nature/environmental protection
NGOs, and local sheep herder NGOs from the Islands of Krk and Cres led extensive and intensive
anti-poisoning campaigns on the Kvarner Islands. While this made locals aware of the problem of
unintentional poisoning, they continue to lay poisoned bait (albeit perhaps to a lesser extent). For
example, they now tend to put the laced animal carcass under a brush, where it is supposedly less
visible to griffon vultures.
The Eurasian griffon vulture is native to the Kvarner Islands, and its population status has almost
certainly been affected by poisoning. The locally critically endangered breeding population here is
estimated at only around 100 pairs. Many people live on these islands, hence information is more
available. However, based on the number of cases reported in the media of sheep suspected to have
been killed by wolves and people's complaints regarding this, the likelihood is that other areas such
as Lika and Dalmatia (along the coast) are also affected by illegal poisoning. In this section, much of
the information provided relates to research conducted in the Counties of Primorje and Gorski Kotar.
To the best of the author's knowledge, little research has been undertaken in other Croatian regions.
In Lika (behind the Mountains of Velebit) locals experience confl ict with wolves. People in their
sixties and seventies often keep sheep and guard them while they graze. Wolves occasionally prey
on these sheep, but government compensation for this loss is often slow in coming (it can take two
years or longer to receive money for sheep lost due to wolves). The Ministry of Culture, Department
for Nature Protection are well aware of the problems caused by such delays, but, they also state that
money is simply not available. The author also suspects that the bear population, which is resident in
Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is also being put at risk because of illegal poisoning in
the Lika region. As scavengers, bears can also eat carcasses laced with poison.
The wolf is a near threatened species in Croatia. The 2010 wolf population in Croatia was esti-
mated at 230 individuals in about 60 packs using a combination of telemetry data (which gives
wolf pack territory size and the average number of wolves per pack) and distribution data (derived
from wolf damage distribution data and snow track counts; Okovic 2010). The LIFE CRO WOLF
project for wolf protection in Croatia ended in 2005. During the project, The Ministry of Culture -
Department for Nature Protection and the State Institute for Nature Protection (which managed
the project) received money to compensate people for damage to cattle and sheep. Now, govern-
ment money alone is available for compensation. The State Institute for Nature Protection which
conducted the LIFE project purchased electric fencing for sheep herders to keep wolves away from
their livestock. They also donated Tornjak dogs to protect herds. Unfortunately, the author believes
that many of the dogs have now been killed by illegal poisoning which was intended for the wolves.
The brown bear is also a near threatened species in Croatia. The 'Brown bear management plan
for the Republic of Croatia' (Kocijan and Huber 2008) estimates that the brown bear population in
Croatia is between 600 and 1000 individuals. Another report estimates there are around 1 000 bears.
Data were obtained using molecular genetic methods, in this case DNA from fecal scat which was
collected across three study areas (Kocijan and Huber 2008). This study also cautions that numbers
must not be overestimated, as this may lead to an increase in any hunting quota, which would ulti-
mately damage the bear population further.
Certain bird species are also considered as pests in Croatia (e.g., blackbirds ( Turdus merula )
and jays ( Garrulus glandarius )). This seems to be a particular problem on the Islands of Krk and
Cres, but certain birds are considered pests in other agricultural areas as well. As an example,
Figures 5.19 and 5.20 show a sign that states 'beware poison' which was in a vineyard on the Istrian
peninsula (above a plate showing a liquid poison). On Krk and Cres locals also apparently put car-
bofuran on cut tomatoes during the summer. Thirsty birds are attracted to the fresh tomatoes, and