Ljubljana - The animal welfare NGO DOPPS - BirdLife Slovenia has warned against poaching and killing of protected bird species in Slovenia, noting that it has recently detected that a golden eagle has fallen victim to firearms of poachers.

The announcement in Tuesday's press release comes as DOPPS - BirdLife Slovenia has been systematically collecting carcasses of protected bird species that had been accidentally found in the wild.

The carcasses collected together with experts from the Slovenian Museum of Natural History are X-ray scanned once a year in cooperation with the Slovenian police.

In early December, X-ray scans were performed on 111 carcasses of protected bird species. "Among the scanned bird carcasses there was a specimen of a golden eagle, found at the end of November in the Cerkno area, which was shot with a shotgun."

The golden eagle is a protected bird species in Slovenia, and is included in the red list of endangered nesting birds in the country, where it is defined as a vulnerable species.

"This is a rare species with great nature conservation importance for the entire country and the international community. Only 32 to 38 pairs of this species are currently recorded in Slovenia," DOPPS - BirdLife Slovenia said.

It noted that poaching of birds with firearms was very difficult to detect, as cases occur all around the country and traces often get obscured.

"What is more alarming is that people still do not perceive such acts as misdemeanour that should be reported. This is why many cases go unnoticed or undetected," the association added.