03/06/2022 10:19 (act 03/06/2022 10:20)
‘Artemisia’ has been ‘brutally recreated’ ©APA/BIRDLIFE
The record imperial eagle “Artemisia” is dead. After the bird flew a record distance from Greece to France in its first year of life, it was shot in Burgenland and found on 5 May at a hunting ground in Zurndorf (Neusiedl am See district). The injuries were so severe that “Artemisia” had to be euthanized, BirdLife Austria reported. The police investigation is ongoing.
“It is sad and embarrassing that ‘Artemisia’ has been so benevolently accompanied by the public on its long journey across Europe and that it has been persecuted so brutally – hardly at home -” said Matthias Schmidt of BirdLife Austria. Officials at Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park brought the animal to the Haringsee Owl and Bird of Prey Station (EGS), run by the “Four Paws”. There was no rescue: “Investigations showed that the bird was obviously shot while sitting. The bullet went through both legs and nearly cut them. The result was open fractures and massive blood loss.”
According to BirdLife, several cases of illegal hunting of wild animals have been reported in Zurndorf municipality in the recent past. The killing of a turtle, a common vulture and the installation of illegal traps were reported. “Our experience shows that the group of perpetrators usually has a hunting history,” says Schmidt. BirdLife Austria therefore requires, among other things: “In the future, all birds of prey in Austria must be registered through nature conservation legislation and not through hunting laws. This is the only way to prosecute efficiently in cases of illegal persecution and avoid possible concealment”.
“Artemisia” was equipped with a GPS transmitter on 27 June 2021 in northern Burgenland as one of two nest brothers. While sister bird “Johannes” collided with a wind turbine and died in October 2021, “Artemisia” undertook a special journey. “It was remarkable that she spent the winter months in Greece, as only a few of our imperial eagles fly this far south,” reports Schmidt. When the bird, after returning via Austria in March, embarked on an “unprecedented” (Schmidt) tour of Europe, which took to the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, among other places, it caused an international sensation.