335 black kites, greater spotted eagle found dead after being poisoned in Negev

Mass mortality near Moshav Patish in southern Israel apparently caused by approved pesticide; nature authority chief scientist pans state for regulatory failure

Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter

The carcasses of 335 black kites at Moshav Patish in southern Israel, after a mass poisoning event apparently caused by an approved pesticide leaching into puddles caused by irrigation, near Moshav Patish, southern Israel, February 1, 2025.  (Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
The carcasses of 335 black kites at Moshav Patish in southern Israel, after a mass poisoning event apparently caused by an approved pesticide leaching into puddles caused by irrigation, near Moshav Patish, southern Israel, February 1, 2025. (Israel Nature and Parks Authority)

Israel Nature and Parks Authority rangers said Sunday that hundreds of wild birds, many of them rare and endangered, were found dead in southern Israel over the weekend, after apparently drinking from water contaminated by a pesticide.

Rangers collected the carcasses of 335 black kites, a greater spotted eagle, a lapwing, and a gray crow. The bodies, found near Moshav Patish in southern Israel, have been sent for autopsy. The results are expected in the coming 24 to 48 hours.

Until then, it will not be known whether the pesticide was approved for use in Israel, and, if so, whether it was used correctly, but officials warned that misuse of pesticides, including legal ones, was an ongoing problem

Prof. Dror Hablana, the new chief scientist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, warned that the tragedy was “the tip of the iceberg” because the suspected chemical is toxic to many species and persists in the environment for a long time.

Although it might turn out that the chemical was used correctly, he lashed out at the state for failing to clamp down on negligent or deliberate pesticide misuse, saying that without cooperation between the Environmental Protection Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry’s Plant Protection Service to regulate agricultural toxins, the Nature and Parks Authority’s efforts to protect Israeli wildlife and birds of prey, in particular, were wasted.

The authority invests considerable time and resources in protecting and breeding birds of prey, especially the griffon vulture, the usual victim of chemical poisoning. In these cases, farmers poison the carcasses of animals such as cows to keep wolves and other species of wild or feral dogs away from their flocks.

The greater spotted eagle poisoned along with 335 black kites, a lapwing and a gray crow near Moshav Patish in southern Israel, February 1, 2025. (Israel Nature and Parks Authority)

Hablana’s predecessor, Yehoshua Shkedy, regularly, but unsuccessfully, tried to draw attention to the need for regulation.

In 2021, for example, he called to reduce poisonous pesticide and fertilizer use, regulate their ownership, and pass a law enabling authorities to arrest people suspected of poisoning wildlife. At present, anyone can buy such poison, and suspects can only be charged if they are caught red-handed.

While plentiful in the world, black kites have been regionally extinct since the early 2000s, although the birds continue to visit during winter or to migrate through Israel.

Greater spotted eagles, also seasonal visitors, are classified as globally vulnerable.

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