Italy ranks poorly for illegal bird hunting; tech like drones and AI offer potential solutions for conservation.
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Italy is not among the EU countries aiming to halve illegal bird killing, taking, and trade by 2030, as required by international conventions. A report from BirdLife International and EuroNatur identifies Italy as having the worst record for illegal hunting, continuing traditional methods like traps and sonic calls that kill millions of migratory birds annually. To combat this, experts suggest leveraging digital tools such as social media campaigns and augmented reality to raise awareness. While technologies like drones and thermal cameras can aid monitoring, they are also dual-use tools. A key recommendation is the creation of shared databases for transnational cooperation, though data standardization remains a challenge. Passive acoustic monitoring shows promise in locating illegal activities, and artificial intelligence could eventually help predict risk areas and identify illegal hunters by analyzing sound or visual patterns.
