The Center for the Protection and Study of Birds (CZIP) filed a criminal complaint against unknown persons, after an unknown person or several of them punctured the tires of the official vehicle of the team of that organization while they were touring the area in the Zeta River valley.
"This type of attack represents a direct threat, and the case has been reported to the police," said CZIP.
During the past weekend, that NGO carried out monitoring activities in the territory of the protected area of the Zeta River Valley, where they recorded several cases of the use of sound decoys, which are illegal means of hunting.
"The decoys are used to attract a large number of quail individuals and shoot them. The CZIP records an increase in the number of cases of the use of illegal means of hunting," the NGO said in a statement.
Last Friday, CZIP poaching teams found cartridges of hunting ammunition and plastic bait on the reservoirs of Solana, which, they say, indicate that poaching is also taking place on the territory of that protected area.
"During the regular monitoring of birds on the Ulcinj Salt Lake, the CZIP team came across fresh cartridges and baits, which are illegal means of hunting, while shots were heard outside the territory of this area. The Solana area has been declared a permanent hunting reserve throughout its territory. Despite this, it is evident that the practice of poaching in this area still continues. We call on the National Parks as the governing body of this area and the Public Enterprise 'Ulcinj Wildlife Breeding and Protection' to prevent further poaching activities on the territory of the protected area and the hunting ban of the Ulcinj salt flats and ensure that this area is safe for birds," said CZIP.
As they said, they consider it particularly worrying that "the perpetrators of poaching activities are not afraid to threaten the security of the Center team".
"Thus, during the tour of the terrain in the valley of the Zeta river, our team's tires on the official vehicle were punctured. This type of attack represents a direct threat, and the case has been reported to the police. Given that numerous hunting societies have appealed to their members to respect the provisions of the Law on Game and Hunting, we invite hunting societies on the territory of Montenegro to join us in the fight against poaching in order to preserve biodiversity, especially migratory birds that are frequent target of poachers", said CZIP.
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