Until the early 1990’s, thousands of raptors and storks were shot down in a hail of gunfire. The poachers would shoot anything in sight, from the commonest species to the rarest of the rare.

The main goal of this senseless raptor massacre was the hunt for trophies, as birds were stuffed and exhibited as a show of one’s shooting skills.

One of the many concrete bunkers built by poachers for shooting migrating raptors and storks. This particular bunker is located on Monte Ciccia (Peloritani mountains) on the Sicilian side of the Strait of Messina; today, it is only used for birdwatching

In fact, in some towns, a folk legend held that a man who was not able to kill at least one Honey Buzzard during the spring would then be cuckolded by his wife.

This type of illegal hunting was so widespread and tolerated that poachers had built innumerable concrete bunkers in the places where raptor passage is especially heavy, where they hid and awaited their quarry. Today, these bunkers still dot the ridges of the Peloritani mountains.
Fortunately, after nearly 30 years of awareness raising and law enforcement, and thanks to the help of law enforcement agencies, illegal hunting of raptors and storks has greatly diminished.


Today, the bunkers are unused, but a few hard-core poachers continue to shoot from remote rural areas, or directly from their own homes.

In spite of a strong reduction in poaching, many raptors that reach the Strait of Messina show evident signs of gunshot damage, as is the case with this Honey Buzzard.

In 1984, during the first international camp, we counted 3,198 raptors and 1,185 gunshots: more than one gunshot for each three passing raptors. Sixteen years later, in 2000, we counted over 34,000 raptors and only 5 gunshots. The first year without a single gunshot was 2005, but a few have been heard in following years.

An additional form of poaching targets Quail, through the use of pre-recorded calls broadcast over electronic devices. These birds, which migrate at night, are attracted by the sounds coming out of the speakers, and settle nearby. At dawn, the poachers can easily shoot them. Thanks to the Regional Forestry Department, dozens of these electronic devices are confiscated every year, and many poachers are fined.