Red-breasted goose  (Branta ruficollis)

Hunting in Bulgaria, as well as in Romania and Ukraine, is a threat for the red-breasted goose. Tourist trips for hunting are becoming more common in Ukraine, and birds are often shot at the breeding grounds in Russia. Additionally, climate change is expected to alter tundra habitats and thereby reduce breeding success. The use of rodenticides in the wintering grounds has also had a deleterious impact upon populations of the red-breasted goose (2) (8).

The red-breasted goose is legally protected in many key states, and parts of the breeding and wintering ranges are protected, but hunting continues regardless. Wintering sites in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine are on a monitoring programme through the Red-breasted Goose Monitoring and Research Programme. The goal is to provide up-to-date information regarding the status of the species, its habitat, movements, ecology, and conservation needs (10). In Bulgaria, a management plan is being implemented for roosting lakes (2). In Romania, a management plan was drafted for Lake Techirghiol in 2008 along with the Romanian National Action Plan (10). An International Action Plan was published in 1996, which proposed a number of conservation measures for the red-breasted goose. These included the expansion of monitoring and research programmes, protection of key sites, control of illegal hunting, promotion of beneficial agricultural policies and the continuation of public awareness initiatives (8).

The Red-breasted Goose International Working Group is an informal expert group of organisations, working to implement the International Action Plan and protect this globally threatened species (9). In February 2009 a Life/AEWA Red-breasted Goose Workshop took place in Constanta, Romania. The aim of the workshop was two-fold: to draft a new International Species Action Plan and to report the results of the Life project “Improving wintering conditions for Branta ruficollis at Techirghiol” (10).