Endangered eagles seized at Baghdad market released in Anbar desert

ANBAR — Birds of prey seized from Baghdad’s al-Ghazl market have been released into the Anbar desert, among them steppe eagles, a species listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Environmental police took the birds during an inspection at the market, which trades in animals, and the release was carried out with the United Nations Development Programme and environmental activists as part of a programme to protect wild and migratory species. “Environmental police, during a campaign organized at Al-Ghazl market in Baghdad, seized a group of rare eagles and released them in the Anbar desert so they could return to nature,” the Interior Ministry said. Neither ministry said how many birds were involved.

Anbar sits on Iraq’s bird migration routes and its varied habitats provide both passage and a place to settle, said Qais Najeh, director of the governorate’s environment office. The autumn migration runs mainly from August to October.

The Environment Ministry said legal measures would be taken against anyone harming wild birds and animals or damaging their habitats under the Environmental Protection and Improvement Law of 2009. It did not say whether anyone had been arrested or charged over the birds seized at the market.