A griffon vulture has been brought in at a bird sanctuary in Ostend in Belgium, which most likely has been shot at.
Cyclists saw the rare animal on Wednesday in a field not far from Nieuwpoort. After it was captured, it was taken to the shelter in Ostend and examined. The vulture appeared to be injured in its wing and abdomen.
“It is almost inevitable that the wounds were caused by a bullet or shotgun hail,” says Isabelle Allemeersch of the bird shelter. “We are not 100 percent sure, because nothing is left behind and nothing is visible on X-rays.”
Recovery is going well
It is unclear where the animal was shot. According to Allemeersch, the vulture could continue flying for tens of kilometers with the wound, so it could also have happened in France or the Netherlands. Why anyone did that is a mystery, because the vulture is a scavenger and therefore does not kill animals itself.
The griffon vulture is recovering well, says Allemeersch. “You hope that such an animal can return to nature as soon as possible. But when that is possible, we don’t know yet.”
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