Last night (Sunday, 25/5/25) during a poisoning prevention inspection tour by Nature and Parks Authority inspectors and poison dogs, with the aim of reducing poisoning incidents in areas prone to poisoning, a suspect was caught placing poison in the area, in the area of the Mailia Local Council in the Upper Galilee.
The inspectors caught the suspect with a lentil (poison) that he had placed in the meat and water that he wanted to place in the area. The suspect admitted during interrogation that he planned to place poison at the site.
Natan Binusevich, Supervisor of Supervision and Enforcement in the Northern District of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority:
"Since the beginning of the year, about 20 poisoning incidents have been recorded in the north of the country that were handled by the Nature and Parks Authority. Thanks to the daily work of the inspectors to reduce poisonings, last night's poisoning was prevented. In the past five years, about 300 cases of poisoning incidents have been reported in the Northern District by the Nature and Parks Authority. The authority is making an intensive effort to prevent poisonings through extensive scans using sniffer dogs to detect toxins.
The dogs conduct numerous field tours in parallel with increased inspection activity. In addition, the Authority works together with the Veterinary Institute to examine the circumstances of death in animals located throughout the country in order to find the cause of death that led to death in every case of suspected poisoning and to rule out other causes of morbidity and death. In recent years, and especially since the beginning of the war, poisoning has been widely used by burying pesticides (the origin of its use is as a pest killer) in various baits, for example water containers, fruit, leftover meat, and more.
The poison is also dangerous to humans and pets – remember: these are very toxic substances to humans.
Harming wild animals is prohibited by law, and the method of harming them using poison is also prohibited. Poison causes terrible suffering to an animal that comes into contact with it. Reptiles are harmed through the skin when they are forced to crawl through these materials. When dust comes into contact with the material, it may reach the eyes, nose, and mouth, and even be absorbed through the skin. It should be noted that these are standard pesticides, which the suspects are using as poisons and are thus breaking the law, since that is not what they are intended for.
Nathan Binusevich, enforcement supervisor in the Northern District at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority:
"Wild animals, by necessity, come into conflict with humans and agriculture in particular, after gnawing at habitats, food scraps, agricultural waste, and access to crops, which increases the attraction of those animals from the wild. Most farmers and the general public protect nature. Unfortunately, time after time we encounter people who, instead of dealing with and addressing the main problem, try to take a shortcut and use various substances that cruelly harm wildlife. The Authority will do everything in its power to enforce the law and keep those people away from valuable areas."
A real threat to wildlife
Director of Poaching Prevention and Operations at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Ilan Yager:
"The poisoning phenomenon in the north of the country poses a real threat to wildlife, especially birds of prey, and harms the regional ecological diversity. Our activity, with the help of skilled and trained dogs, is the buffer that prevents the severe damage that can be caused by poisoning and baiting. Thanks to the dogs, we are able to locate the toxins and stop the chain of poisoning before it harms other species. Unfortunately, there is a need to expand the activity to the entire country in order to save the lives of additional wildlife and help preserve the biological and ecological diversity in the country. Many incidents are reported to the authority by citizens who find dead animals or that the animal they raise has been harmed itself, and there is great importance in the public's assistance in locating and reducing the hazards."
Dying in severe agony
Ohad Hatzofe, a raptor ecologist at the Nature and Parks Authority, adds that the lack of control over the sale and possession of pesticides allows dangerous substances to be in irresponsible hands, and they are used criminally, massively, and uncontrolledly, when it comes to pesticides with high levels of toxicity.
Malicious and illegal poisonings against dogs and wild animals harm the entire natural system. In Israel's short history, poisonings have caused the extinction of eagles from the Galilee and the Golan Heights, the total extinction of at least five species of raptors from the country, and the disappearance of additional species. In these poisonings, various mammals, birds, reptiles, and even invertebrates die in agony, while in fact the poisonings harm the entire biological diversity and the functioning of various natural systems.
Hundreds Animals affected by verified poisoning incidents in the Northern District between 2020 and 2025
In field scans by the Authority's inspectors with poison detection dogs, it was found that hundreds of jackals and wild boars, porcupines, hedgehogs and raptors such as winter hawks and eagles, eagle owls, wood eagles and sunbirds were affected, along with many reptiles that also happened to be at the site of the poisoning and were affected by liquids or powders that were in the area - all of this during the last five years in the Northern District, with most of the time it was a farmer who wanted to harm wolves, jackals or pigs, and in addition to harming them, also harmed dozens of other species. Over 100 dogs were also affected during this period, from direct or secondary poisoning.
Well done to the inspectors
Many thanks to those involved in nature conservation..
May your strength be with you….