site.btaSeventeen White Storks with Permanent Disabilities from Bulgaria Find New Home in Italian Rescue Centres

A total of 17 white storks with permanent disabilities have been transferred from the Green Balkans Wildlife Rescue Centre in Stara Zagora (South Cenral Bulgaria) to two rescue centres in Italy, Green Balkans reported.  

This is the second such transfer of white storks to Italy, after 23 birds were sheltered by the CRAS Racconigi rescue centre last year. After the event gained widespread media popularity in Italy, the Rescue Centre in Stara Zagora was contacted by Centro Fauna Selvatica Il PETTIROSSO from Modena, who expressed their desire to take in four pairs of birds this year. They were joined by Leo Wild Park in Todi, which has committed to caring for the remaining nine storks.

In addition to receiving a home and constant care, the birds will be included in the educational activities carried out by the two centres. If breeding pairs are formed and they have offspring, the young will be released into the wild, which will help the wild population of the species, Green Balkans said.

Italy is not the only country with which the Green Balkans Rescue Centre is implementing a similar initiative. In 2017, seven white storks with amputated wings became part of the collection of the Prague Zoo in the Czech Republic. Two years later, seven storks joined them, and in 2023, nine more arrived, the Wildlife Rescue Centre in Stara Zagora recalls.