How “Digital Trophies” Are Aiding Bird Conservation
In the heart of the Eastern Mediterranean flyway, Lebanon should be a sanctuary for millions of migratory birds traveling between Europe and Africa. Instead, a sobering study reveals that this small nation has become a deadly trap—where social media has turned into a dark window into widespread illegal hunting.
A groundbreaking study published in Oryx used Facebook and Instagram posts to document the scale of bird poaching in Lebanon. By analysing nearly 2,000 publicly shared photographs from 2011 to 2023, researchers identified over 29,000 individual birds from 212 species killed by poachers. Disturbingly, 94% of those species are legally protected in Lebanon, and many are of international conservation concern.
“Our study is the first to use social media as a tool for assessing illegal hunting activities in Lebanon,” write the authors, highlighting how this unconventional method offers unprecedented access to poaching activities that are otherwise difficult to monitor.
A Flyway Under Fire
Lebanon lies on the Eastern African–Eurasian Flyway, a critical corridor for migratory birds, especially large soaring species like raptors, storks, and pelicans. Despite being a signatory to multiple conservation agreements, Lebanon has one of the worst records for bird poaching in the Mediterranean. An estimated 2.5 million birds are illegally killed there every year.
The social media images examined by researchers included a grim tally of protected species. Among the most frequently targeted were the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), and Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus). Raptors were particularly hard-hit, accounting for 25% of all images, with 35 species identified. The European Honey-buzzard (Pernis apivorus) alone appeared in 232 images.
Even more alarming is the presence of globally threatened species among the digital trophies. These included the endangered Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis), and Great Bustard (Otis tarda). In total, 19 of the species found are listed as threatened or Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Hunters displaying their trophies on social media. over half the online photos showed identifiable poachers, revealing their disregard for the law. Images from social media (fair use).
Poaching in Plain Sight
The cavalier attitude of poachers was one of the study’s most shocking findings. Poachers appeared in 44% of the photos and were clearly identifiable in 89% of those, often revealing faces, license plates, and even contact details.
“They posed enthusiastically with their illegal trophies, often making no attempt to hide their identities,” the authors noted, suggesting a culture of impunity and even pride in these acts.
Photos often depicted large piles of carcasses, sometimes exceeding legal hunting limits by vast margins. One image showed 300 Barn Swallows; another featured 41 dead honey-buzzards. These were not isolated events but recurring scenes across hundreds of images, many taken during the illegal spring hunting season.
Why Social Media?
This unconventional method of “conservation culturomics”—using digital culture to inform conservation science—is proving to be a powerful tool. Social media platforms are flooded with user-generated content that can provide valuable data for monitoring threats to wildlife.
“Social media posts provide a particularly useful alternative method for assessing the species targeted by poachers,” the authors explained. They contrasted this with bird ringing data, which often misses non-priority species or regions where monitoring is weak.
Moreover, public sharing of these images inadvertently creates a searchable archive of evidence, potentially useful for law enforcement and conservation campaigns. The Lebanese Internal Security Forces have occasionally used such content to prosecute offenders, although enforcement remains inconsistent.
A Crisis with International Consequences
The implications stretch far beyond Lebanon’s borders. Many of the birds shot in the country originate from European breeding populations. A previous study by the same authors found that birds ringed in 28 different countries—including Finland, Germany, and Sweden—were killed in Lebanon.
“This represents a significant international issue,” the authors warn, “even more so when considered in the context of illegal hunting across the flyway.” Conservation investments in Europe are effectively undermined when migratory species are lost to illegal hunting elsewhere.
Time for a Coordinated Response
Despite the gravity of the findings, the researchers remain hopeful that social media can be part of the solution. Lebanese conservation groups are already leveraging these platforms to promote legal hunting practices and nature appreciation. Organizations like the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon and the Middle Eastern Sustainable Hunting Centre use Facebook and Instagram to share educational content, encourage ethical hunting, and highlight the importance of birdwatching and ecotourism.
“Social media can therefore be an effective way to counter illegal hunting and promote change in public perceptions of wildlife conservation,” the study concludes.
However, the authors call on tech companies to do more. Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok have policies prohibiting wildlife crime and graphic content, yet enforcement appears weak. The study reported dozens of violent or abusive posts that were never removed, even after being flagged.
The Takeaway
What began as digital boasting by poachers has turned into a rich source of conservation intelligence. But it’s a double-edged sword—both a reflection of the scale of the crisis and a rallying call for action. As bird populations continue to plummet across the globe, and as migratory routes grow ever more dangerous, Lebanon’s illegal hunting epidemic must be addressed with urgency, both within its borders and by the global conservation community.
Source: André F. Raine, Jason Gregg, Lloyd Scott, Axel Hirschfeld, Ghassan Ramadan-Jaradi and Filippo Bamberghi (2025). Digital Trophies: Using Social Media to Assess Wildlife Crime in Lebanon. Oryx. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605324000814.
