Preventing Raptors Electrocutions in Sardinia, Italy

Bird electrocution is a global concern and causes the death of thousands of birds annually around the world. Raptors are particularly susceptible to electrocution due to their size and their habit of using power lines pylons as a perch, to rest or hunt.

This project will help tackle the threat posed by electrocution to raptors (including the recently reintroduced Bonelli’s Eagles) in Sardinia, Italy, where the Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA) plans to retrofit 140 electric pylons across the island by 2023.

Pylons will be strategically selected based on their suitability for raptors and the risk they pose to raptors and other birds. This is the first broad scale intervention on energy infrastructures in Sardinia with the purpose to improve the conservation status of birds of prey on the island.

Retrofitting of electric pylons represents the core of the project as it is the most efficient action to minimize electrocution risk for Bonelli’s eagle and birds of prey in Sardinia. This is the first broad scale intervention on energy infrastructures in Sardinia with the purpose to improve the conservation status of birds of prey on the island through the correction of the most dangerous pylons.