Shooting is still a main threat for raptors inhabiting urban and suburban areas of Rome, Italy

Abstract

Assessing threats and causes of mortality is crucial for understanding the factors driving population dynamics and planning effective conservation actions. Investigating the causes for admission into wildlife rehabilitation centres can contribute to assessing the main threats affecting animal populations inhabiting urban and suburban habitats. After analysing 2367 raptors belonging to 28 species admitted at the LIPU/Bioparco wildlife rehabilitation centre of Rome during 12 years (2000–2011), we found that collisions with man-made structures were the most frequent cause for admission, with shooting the second most frequent cause of admission. However, for Falconiformes, excluding kestrels, shooting was the most common cause for admission (52% of all admissions). Comparing urban with suburban landscapes, we found that the occurrence of birds admitted with evidence of gunshot wounds was higher in the suburban landscape for both Strigiformes and Falconiformes. Considering only the 17 species listed in Annex I to Bird Directive 147/2009/EC, shooting was the most frequent cause of admission and accounted for more than 40% of cases. The high frequency of admissions of raptors due to shooting in urban and suburban Rome shows that persecution of raptors is not restricted to rural areas of Italy.