Banner removed after endangering protected birds, but accountability questions remain

A political banner erected by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party in Belgrade became a focal point of controversy after it endangered protected white stork chicks nesting on the building's window blinds. The incident sparked public outcry and prompted action from environmental groups and the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

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If they truly cared about protected and endangered species, that billboard should never have been put up in the first place. Someone should have asked for a permit, and then someone would have said: no, there is a vulnerable and endangered species there, a billboard cannot be placed there.

While President Aleksandar Vučić asserted that the demand for the banner's removal stemmed from political motives orchestrated by foreign intelligence and domestic opponents, activists contend that genuine concern for the endangered species would have prevented the banner's placement in the first place. They argue that proper permits would have revealed the presence of the vulnerable birds, thus prohibiting the billboard.

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A long-term action carried out by some external services, carried out by some media in Serbia and carried out by our political opponents. And that is an attempt to dehumanize, not only me, but all of us who do this job responsibly, in which we should be presented as people who do not love animals, as people who are not human.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection announced that the chicks were safe and being cared for, releasing footage of specialists feeding them. Activists, however, dismissed these efforts as "crisis PR," suggesting the government only acted after the situation escalated. The exact number of nests and the current condition of the chicks remain unclear, with adult birds observed entering the blinds, leading to assumptions that many young survived, though this is unconfirmed.

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We don't know how many nests there were, or what exactly happened to them, what they were fed, what is happening now. What is visible from the building is that adult individuals are entering those blinds, so we can assume that a larger number of young birds survived. But that is only a guess, more what we hope for.