For the fourth time in two weeks his nests of Oeverzwaluwen destroyed at the Empelse Waard along the Maas, just outside Den Bosch. Young people also abused young birds by puncturing them with sticks or throwing them with the animals. “This is pure animal abuse,” says forester Sander Verwoerd.
According to Natuurmonumenten, they are young men who destroy the nests, close the nest holes with mud and remove young swallows from the nests or puncture with sticks.
“They pick up the birds and throw them while they can’t fly yet,” says Sander Verwoerd. “That is why they fall and often do not survive.” But also the closest to the nest openings with mud or even cans is extremely dangerous. “The parents can then no longer feed their young and they eventually die from hunger.”
“It’s just animal abuse and therefore punishable.”
Verwoerd does not understand what inspires the perpetrators. “I think they are sturdy and that they burn each other up to do these terrible things,” he says. “It’s just animal abuse and therefore punishable.”
Samen Sterk in Brabant (SSIB), who is responsible for enforcement in the outskirts of Brabant, tries to find out who the perpetrators are. The organization calls on people who have seen something suspicious to report. “We can give the perpetrators a fine, but we would rather address them about their behavior,” says the forester of Natuurmonumenten.
“The nests of the swallow stand out.”
The Oeverzwaluw is a protected bird species in the Netherlands. They breed in self-dug corridors in steep sand or clay walls along water. Every year Natuurmonumenten is notified of destruction of their nests.
“Because of the nice weather, more people come to the Maas to swim, for example,” explains Sander. “The nests are there at eye level in the sheet piling. And you see the shore swallows flying to and on to feed their young. That makes the nests stand out.”
Earlier this month, between 8 and 10 June, nests of shore swallows were also destroyed in Deurne. They lay there in a sand mountain. During work, the mountain was flattened with an excavator, so that the nests collapsed. The young birds did not survive.
