Reports from relevant international organizations and societies, such as BirdLife International, indicate that about half a million wild and aquatic birds are killed annually in Libya due to poaching and indiscriminate hunting, posing a serious threat to the ecological balance and the future of wildlife in the country.
A study by Brochet et al. indicates that nearly 25 million birds are killed annually in the Mediterranean region due to illegal hunting. These numbers are distributed unevenly among Arab countries, with estimates reaching about 5.4 million birds in Egypt, 3.9 million in Syria, 2.6 million in Lebanon, in addition to Libya, where the number of birds killed reaches about 503,000 annually.
The Libyan Society for the Protection of Wildlife confirmed that hunting is no longer just a traditional practice or a hobby, but has become a destructive and systematic process that threatens all bird species, especially songbirds, whose numbers exceed 20 million annually, as well as water birds, wild pigeons, and birds of prey, which play a crucial role in balancing food chains.
Ahmed Al-Qaydi, director of the society’s media office, explained that the absence of effective oversight and serious legal prosecution, along with the widespread proliferation of advanced weapons, 4×4 vehicles, and modern tracking devices, has transformed hunting from a traditional practice into a systematic extermination of wildlife.
Al-Qaydi pointed out that areas that were once safe havens for rare animals and birds are now controlled by armed groups that regulate access to them, exploiting the natural migration seasons of birds to hunt them mercilessly, without regard for local or international laws.
He added that these practices have forced birds and animals to change their historical migration routes or to avoid Libyan territories altogether, leading to a significant decrease in their numbers over the past decades, a stark indicator of a serious ecological imbalance.
Al-Qaydi noted that the loss of birds does not simply mean a reduction in nature’s beauty or a decline in biodiversity, but represents the loss of a natural balance that protects crops from pests, limits the proliferation of rodents and insects, and ensures the health of the ecosystems on which human daily life depends.
He stressed that some exploit hunting for commercial purposes, such as selling rare animals as souvenirs or trophies at high prices, thereby violating all environmental laws and ethics.
Al-Qaydi concluded the society’s appeal by emphasizing that the protection of wildlife and our natural resources is not a secondary option, but a national, patriotic, and humanitarian duty directly linked to human health, food security, and our future on Earth.
He clarified that standing firmly against this phenomenon requires urgent action from all official bodies and concerned citizens to ensure the preservation of this national treasure, the protection of wildlife throughout Libya and the Arab region, and the maintenance of a fundamental natural balance that benefits both humans and animals.
