At the end of August, a new incident of illegal use of poison baits was recorded in the area of Sklithro in Amyntaio. Unfortunately, four Greek shepherd dogs were poised. However, three of them were rescued thanks to the early intervention of their owners, as well as the intervention of a Member of the Shepherd Dog Exchange and Donation Network. The member of the Network helped the dog owners by giving them guidelines on properly using the anti-poison first aid kit, which is distributed for free through the LIFE AMYBEAR project, in order to tackle dog poisoning. Moreover, the project’s veterinarians gave the necessary advice to the livestock breeders of the area, concerning the first aid actions they shall need to undertake in the mountains and the immediate transfer of the poisoned dogs to the veterinary clinic in order to assess the general state of the dogs’ health and to complete the treatment. Regrettably, one of the four dogs could not be saved.

The poisoned baits can pose a serious threat to public health, and their use is prosecuted. Furthermore, the destructive and illegal use of poison baits is more likely to kill other species other than their target, such as rare predators and domestic animals (sheepdogs, hounds, pets).Thus, poison baits are completely ineffective in reducing damage from wildlife to livestock and are the number one cause of death for livestock guarding dogs. This phenomenon of the use of the poison kits has taken on a large scale in the area of Florina and Amyntaio, which is why one of the main actions of the LIFE AMYBEAR with the close cooperation of the “Poison Detection Team Action in Western Macedonia” of the Hellenic Ornithological Society is to eliminate and tackle it. The latter conducts patrols in the area so as to detect and remove any baits found in the abovementioned areas.

In the framework of the LIFE AMYBEAR project, information campaigns have been organised for the effects of poison baits, but also for the required measures to prevent damages to the primary sector by large carnivores, such as bears or wolfs. At the same time, the free distribution of the anti-poison first aid kits for poisoning has started, as well as the general information on this topic in cooperation with the Municipality of Amyntaio and the Livestock and Sheep Breeding Cooperative of the Amyntaio area. Up until today, the LIFE AMYBEAR team has donated several kits and has implemented briefings in the settlements of Lehovo, Limnochori, Variko, Agioi Anargyroi, Amyntaio, Petres, Kelli, Pelargos, Antigono, Aetos, Xino Nero, Phanos, Vevi, Kleidi, Vegora, etc. The LIFE AMYBEAR project is funded by the European Union LIFE Programme, the Green Fund and the Partners of the project. It is implemented by the Decentralized Administration of Epirus-Western Macedonia, the Municipality of Amyntaio, LEVER Development Consultants SA, and Callisto.