Greater spotted eagles are critically endangered raptors that migrate from Eastern European breeding grounds to African wintering areas, facing shooting, trapping, and electrocution throughout their range.
Eagles shot during migration suffer traumatic injuries — those that survive the initial shooting experience pain and impaired flight capacity, unable to hunt effectively. Electrocution victims suffer severe electrical burns and often spinal injury — survival requires intensive rehabilitation and may result in permanent wing damage preventing release. Trapping causes restraint injury and prolonged stress. The small population means each adult lost to persecution has population-level significance. Rehabilitation centres in Egypt, Israel, and Jordan increasingly treat spotted eagles but lack capacity for the numbers affected.