Poaching drives wildlife decline in Iraq’s Balad

Shafaq News- Saladin

Wild bird and animal populations, including the native Iraqi bulbul, have declined in Balad district, Saladin province, in recent years as poaching and habitat loss increasingly threaten local biodiversity, Qaimaqam (district head) Haider Al-Baldawi said on Tuesday.

Al-Baldawi told Shafaq News that expanding human activity has reduced areas available for wildlife, while illegal hunting continues to put pressure on fauna across the district. Among the affected birds is the Iraqi bulbul, which is captured for sale in Iraq and abroad.

Authorities, he noted, are seeking to curb poaching through tighter monitoring, particularly during breeding seasons, and legal action against violators. Al-Baldawi identified Harba, Al-Hudaira, Uzair Balad, Al-Farhatiyah, Sayyid Gharib, and Al-Mahatta as key wildlife areas that also provide feeding and resting grounds for migratory birds, calling for stronger safeguards to preserve the district’s ecosystems.

Iraq lies along a major migratory flyway connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa, with at least 19 globally threatened bird species recorded in the country. In July 2026, Iraq’s Strategic Center for Human Rights, citing International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) data, reported that 134 species were at risk of extinction, driven largely by environmental degradation, water scarcity, illegal hunting, and other human pressures.

The Green Iraq Environmental Observatory documented nearly 1,000 migratory birds killed in Iraq’s southern marshes in December 2025 alone, while conservation groups have warned that persistent hunting could drive some populations away from their traditional migration routes.

Read more: Silent extinction: Iraq’s wildlife fades as water runs out