Millions of birds killed in the Mediterranean

An estimated 25m birds, from chaffinches to harriers, are being killed illegally around the Mediterranean each year, a study has shown.

Millions of birds, including threatened species such as turtle doves, are being unlawfully shot, trapped, poisoned or glued for food, sport, captured as caged birds or other reasons across the region, the assessment by Birdlife International reveals.

While some of the Mediterranean countries with the highest number of birds being killed each year are those hit by conflict, such as Syria and Libya, some European countries also feature high on the ranking of the top ten countries for illegal killing.