A baby bird of prey that was taken to COFIB for care. Photo Credit, EWN
The Balearic local organisation for the protection and welfare of wildlife has just celebrated 20 years of helping to preserve the islands´ fauna.
The Consortium for the Recovery of Fauna in the Balearic Islands (COFIB) celebrated its 20th birthday over the weekend with a range of events designed to highlight the vital work the group carries out and raise awareness of the “importance [of] the conservation and protection of nature in the Balearic archipelago”.*
Joan Simonet is the Regional Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment and attended the celebrations at COFIB´s Fauna Recovery Centre, which is located near the centre of the island in Santa Eugènia. Saturday´s schedule included informative talks, training workshops and audiovisual projections showing some of the work that COFIB is involved in, as well as stands dedicated to each of the different departments that make up the consortium. As well as this, in order to give visitors a closer peek at the essential work being done, there were tours of the wildlife centre, and live releases of wild fauna.
COFIB was originally founded in 2004 via collaboration between the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment and Natura Parc, with the principal objective being the “care and recovery of injured wildlife, environmental education and research, breeding in captivity of endangered species, support for conservation plans, collection of escaped exotic fauna and management and control of invasive species”.*
Throughout the last 20 years, COFIB has tended to almost 80,000 animals, comprising of 70,000 wild fauna and 10,000 exotics, with 27,000 of those cared for having been successfully returned to the wild.
Since COFIB first began its work, 40,000 schoolchildren have visited the centre for educational talks and experiences.
*Govern de les Illes Balears, 27/09/2024
