Turkey is a stronghold with up to 90,000 pairs. The species is declining in Greece and Turkey because of habitat loss, and a large decrease in Israel is thought to be due to pesticides. In Somalia this bird is now rare. Migrating birds are shot in the countries around the eastern Mediterranean, despite legal protection in most countries, and there is some persecution of breeding birds in Greece and Syria, where this species is considered to be unlucky. There are indications that this shrike is adapting to plantations instead of natural woodlands, which could help populations in the longer term.