Compared to the current provisions of the Penal Code, the legislation expands the qualified cases of damage to nature, animal cruelty, and the organization of illegal animal fighting.Continue reading
The Mályi Bird Rescue Station received an anonymous report that there were swallows’ nests at a company’s factory, where there is now construction work going on. A day later it was revealed that nearly a hundred nests had been knocked down during construction work, the organization’s Facebook page said.
Swallows are protected animals in Hungary and it is strictly forbidden to destroy their nests.
The organization also informed the local national park and the government office, and together with their staff, they visited the site.
The people responsible for the work admitted that the nests were removed yesterday, citing accident prevention reasons because the stucco on the top of the building had come loose and that was the reason for the intervention. Fortunately, we have not seen any swallows here yet, so no animals were harmed,”
wrote the Mályi Bird Rescue Station in a Facebook post. Once the reports have been recorded and interviews have taken place, the Government Office will take the necessary action, they added.
The Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society has a whole article on their website about the removal of swallow nests in case it is necessary to do so, mostly when construction work requires it. They say that “it does matters by what means we achieve” that the swallows stay away while any work is ongoing. For example, the vertical and horizontal application of a spiked line which is used to keep pigeons out is not a good solution for keeping swallows away because when they are flying fast, they can get stuck and die on it.
Moreover, even if the nests are removed, permission is needed first, as swallows are protected animals in Hungary.
Featured image: illustration via Pixabay