If you find poisoned baits in the field or a dead animal, it is very important not to touch or move them, as the poison is hazardous to health and the dead animal can also be a carrier of some diseases.  

You must immediately call the relevant authorities (local Forest Service, Police, Veterinary Department, Public Veterinary, National Parks Management Unit) to come to the scene, collect the poisoned baits or poisoned animals and carry out an on-site investigation. You can also call the Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace, who will notify the relevant agencies and come to the scene with a trained detection dog and its handler, to look for any other poisoned baits or dead animals and to clean the area so that they can save other animals, either domestic or wild.

If you detect symptoms of poisoning in your dog or cat, call your veterinarian immediately to give you instructions on the correct first aid to use. Sometimes the symptoms may resemble those of poisoning, but come from an illness. In any case, if the incident is related to the possible use of illegal poisoned baits, it is necessary to report the event to the relevant authorities (Forest Service, Police). Do not throw away or bury the dead animal, because it is an evidence of a possible illegal act that can be deduced from an autopsy and a toxicological analysis. Also, you can call the Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace to come with their anti-poison dog unit to determine if other poisoned baits are present. In order to make their job easier, it is very good to know when and where your dog was poisoned so that the correct area can be checked. If your dog is a livestock guard dog or a hunting dog, it is necessary to notify the authorities of game control, which in turn will notify hunters, so that they do not put their dogs in danger.

If you find an injured bird, immediately notify one of the competent authorities (Forest Service, Veterinary Department, Public Veterinary, Police, Fire Service, National Parks Management Unit, the Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace) for collection and first aid and then sending it to the nearest Wildlife Care Centre, as we do not have such a centre in Thrace.

Your immediate report can save a bird from death!

If the bird is a stork and is within the boundaries of a village, you can notify the Municipality of your area or the president of your local community.

If you find a dead bird in the countryside it is important to report it to one of the competent authorities (Forest Service, Police, Veterinary Department, Public Veterinary, Police, Fire Service, National Parks Management Unit, the Society for the Protection of Biodiversity of Thrace).

Especially in relation to the rare birds of Thrace, the collection of a dead individual can give useful information about the cause of its death,  which may be due to an illegal act, such as poaching or shooting, or from electrocution, collision with an energy infrastructure, natural causes or some other cause and it is important that this is recorded by the agencies and researchers who protect and study them. 

Caution: If the dead bird has plastic or metal rings on its legs and a plastic marking tag on its wing, and a transmitter on its back or tail, do not remove them! Any of those features means that this bird has been marked by researchers, either from Greece or another country, who are studying the demographics of these species and the likely causes of their mortality. By reporting the sighting of a tagged bird, you help research and help to protect the birds.