Werkgroep Roofvogels Nederland

The Working Group Birds of Prey the Netherlands (Werkgroep Roofvogels Nederland, WRN) is a national working group that was established in 1982 to end the persecution of birds of prey. Research into birds of prey is becoming more and more important within the protection activities. Knowledge about lifestyle and breeding biology proved indispensable. Birds of prey do not have their name going for them in Dutch. "Roven" is a negative concept. It used to be thought that birds of prey were a threat to other animals. Eating one animal by another, also called predation, however, is done for reasons of body preservation and is only one of the many causes of death. Hunting birds of prey play an important (selection) role in nature. All birds of prey have been legally protected since 1941. Nevertheless, birds of prey in the Netherlands are locally having a hard time. Every year, many hundreds are deliberately killed. Raptors are sometimes persecuted out of ignorance, but usually there is an alleged self-interest. The animals are blamed for hunting rabbits, pheasants and pigeons, in addition to mice and insects.