STORY NAME: BULGARIA WILDLIFE RESCUE CENTER

DURATION 5.29

STORYLINE:

Wildlife Rescue and Breeding centre Green Balkans is the largest Bulgarian non-governmental nature-conservation organisation. The federation comprises of 4 regional societies and has 4,000 members and volunteers. Green Balkans works together with its partners and donors with the aim of protecting the nature of Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula. This involves a number of conservation activities including restoration of wetlands and habitats of rare and threatened species, nature conservation legislation and sustainable development. The Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre Green Balkans work since it was established in 1988. It focuses on rehabilitation, treatment, restoration and the release back into the wild of rare and threatened species.

In 1988, the former totalitarian communist regime in Bulgaria committed one of the most serious crimes against the biological diversity of Europe. Throughout the country hundreds of thousand tons of poisonous chemicals (rodenticides) were spread to control lemming populations. This caused the death of over a million wild birds wintering in Bulgaria. In December 1988, an informal group of students and scientists from Plovdiv University 100 kilometers east of the capital Sofia and the Ecology Institute gathered the carcasses of dead birds and organised the first environmental demonstration in the country. This small group of nature lovers gained instant recognition and the organisation Green Balkans was established.

The center focuses on the rehabilitation of injured wildlife, and specializes in the treatment of threatened and endangered raptors (birds of prey). It is an official CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora) center and is responsible for the care of wild animals involved in illegal trading in Bulgaria. It is also a breeding center aiming to increase the populations of some species (Imperial Eagle, Griffon Vulture) and the reintroduction into the wild of others (Bearded Vulture, Black Vulture). Annually, approximately 600 wild animals (mostly raptors) are treated at the center, with approximately 40% successfully released back into the wild. The center most often treats species of high conservation status such as eagles, vultures, falcons, herons, egrets, pelicans and storks. The Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Centre and the regional office in town of Stara Zagora have an active environmental and biodiversity conservation education program and give presentations to schools, governments and the public. The center receives some financial support from the Bulgarian government also, but mostly relies on donations and grants from private organizations. They are supported by many volunteers and work with many organizations such as the European Voluntary Service, The International Nature Network, and the United States Peace Corps.