Thousands of birds killed illegally in Norway

Research conducted by the Norwegian Ornithological Association showed that at least 5,200 birds and bird eggs were destroyed every year in Norway's nature areas, public broadcaster NRK reported Wednesday.

There is however possibility of even darker numbers going as high as 34,500 birds and eggs, the organization warned.

The reasons for this type of crime are various, the association claims, mentioning shooting "for fun", destruction of nests, collection mania as well as sale of eggs, skins and live birds of prey through an international network.

"Some (of the reasons) are due to enough ignorance or low tolerance for birds while other types of crime follow financial intentions," said Paul Shimmings, a senior consultant of the Norwegian Ornithological Association.

"The numbers are dreary. There is no reason why so many birds should be killed," he said.

Criminals use increasingly advanced methods, such as drones and GPS to find bird nests, Shimmings said.

"At the same time, the internet is used to spread information in criminal environments. The information flow is faster today than it was 20-30 years ago," he added.

Even though the number of birds killed in Norway is much lower than in other countries, there should be focus on the problem, Shimming said.

"This type of action comes in addition to the challenges the birds have already been experiencing with food access and climate change," he told NRK.

Common gull, European herring gull and great black-backed gull are the birds that top the list of the species that are most illegally killed in Norway.

Other birds, such as long-tailed jaeger, are considered to be a Nordic specialty and eggs from the species are a sought after as a collection item.