Balgarianovinite.com Nine birds – eight vultures and one crow – have been found poisoned in Central Balkan National Park, the Green Balkans nature conservation organization and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) said on Wednesday.
Following alarming data from the GPS transmitter of a bearded vulture, on Tuesday experts from the Park and BSPB found the bearded vulture along with four black vultures, one griffon vulture, and a crow dead close to the corpse of a cow. A second griffon vulture was found in critical condition and died while being transported to the Green Balkans Wildlife Rescue Centre. One more black vulture was found dead in the area on Wednesday.
Among the victims is Boev, the first young bearded vulture to be released in the wild in Bulgaria. He was donated by Czechia and released in the Sinite Kamani Nature Park in May 2025 as part of an international project to restore the species’ nesting population in this country, implemented by eight organizations in Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and Romania. Boev’s transmitter data showed that the bird then crossed eight European countries, covering 14,100 km in 123 days, before returning to Bulgaria on August 13, 2026, Green Balkans said.
One of the poisoned black vultures was equipped with a transmitter, which helped find the site of the incident – a hard-to-reach area of the Park’s Kalofer section, close to the winter hiking route from Panitsite to Mt. Botev. The bird was donated by Spain to support Bulgarian wildlife as part of a project to restore the Black vulture’s population in the Rhodope Mountains, the BSPB said.
Dr. Dobromir Dobrev of BSPB commented that the poisoning of wild animals is not a problem unique to Bulgaria. “Spain has also gone through a very difficult period in which poison was one of the main causes of vulture mortality. The difference is that, over the years, mechanisms have been put in place there for the early detection, investigation, and prosecution of these crimes, including specialized training for institutions and fieldwork. As a result, cases of poisoning have decreased significantly. This shows that the problem can be solved when there is a consistent government policy and effective enforcement of the law,” he said.
The Ministry of Environment and Water said in a press release that an investigation has been launched. The perpetrator faces a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to EUR 11,000, because protected species were harmed and the crime was committed in a national park. Both Bulgarian and EU law prohibit the use of poison and poison baits against predators, the Ministry underscored. Vultures are the most common victims to livestock owners trying to protect their animals from ground-based predators by using poison bait, the press release reads.
In January and April, there were other cases where vultures were again found poisoned.
The Cinereous (black) vulture (Aegypius monachus) and the Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) are listed as extinct in Bulgaria, but decades of joint reintroduction efforts by Bulgarian and foreign conservation organizations have resulted in the return of these large birds of prey to Bulgaria. This summer saw the hatching of black vulture chicks in the Bulgarian part of the Eastern Rhodope mountains for the first time in 30 years. Nine Birds of Protected Vulture Species Found Poisoned in Central Balkan National Park 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-08-19 11:15:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law