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Albacete
Tuesday, 5 November 2024, 11:15
Officers from the Guardia Civil's nature protection service Seprona in Albacete, a province in the Castilla–La Mancha region of Spain, have investigated a resident of Murcia as the alleged perpetrator of a crime against nature. Specifically, it is a crime against protected fauna as it is alleged that he killed a bearded vulture with a shotgun in the Albacete village of Nerpio.
According to a statement, Seprona officers at the Albacete centre of operations were informed of the death of a specimen of bearded vulture on 21 February in the municipality of Nerpio (Albacete). The notification was passed on via the regional government's environment agency and the provincial environment department.
With the first alarm being raised from the tracking and monitoring system fitted on this bird of prey, environmental agents from Albacete province located the carcass of the bearded vulture which, after being collected, was transferred to Albacete's wildlife recovery centre for analysis and study.
The speed of this action and the efficiency shown by the environmental agents in these first moments allowed investigators to gather relevant information for subsequent inquiries. In particular, they gathered data on the last movements of the bird during the days prior to its death, carrying out a visual inspection of the place where the bird was found.
From then on Seprona developed several lines of investigation. Firstly, they managed to gather valuable information on the movements of the bird of prey, all recorded in the GPS it was carrying, then the information as to how it had died. Finally, they ascertained which people were in the vicinity on the day of the death of the bearded vulture, literally anyone who may have been carrying out some kind of activity in the area and who may have had something to do with this occurrence.
Once all this information was gathered, the investigation revealed that the bird was killed by shots fired from a shotgun using small game ammunition and that the shot that caused its death was fired at close range, with up to 32 lead projectiles found in its body.
The bearded vulture - also known as lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus) - is a large bird with a curious and trusting character, making it practically impossible to confuse it with any game bird. Therefore the investigation concluded that the perpetrator fired the shot deliberately in the full knowledge that it was not a game bird. These points were made at the time of his arrest.
The shot bearded vulture was named Lopezosa and is a species included in Spanish catalogue of threatened species in the category of 'in danger of extinction'. This is the fifth chick born in the wild from one of the first breeding pairs to be formed after the reintroduction of this species in 2006. It was also the last of this pair.
This is a significantly sad event in the conservation of the species considering that, 18 years after the start of the project to reintroduce this bird to Spain, only 17 chicks have hatched in the wild, which gives readers an idea of the biological importance and negative impact of events such as the one investigated.
The project for the reintroduction of this species involves a significant financial outlay for those in charge. All the time, money and effort that have gone into raising this single specimen is estimated at around 80,000 euros. The person arrested, according to the penal code for crimes against the protection of flora and fauna, could face a prison sentence of six months to two years and a disqualification from hunting of eight to twenty-four months.
Seprona's criminal case has now been handed over to the examining magistrate's court in Hellín to continue with proceedings.
Since 2017 there have been three cases of death by gunshot of bearded vultures in the province of Albacete. The first case took place in 2017 in the municipality of Yeste, within the Calares del Mundo y de la Sima natural park. Once again Seprona initiated enquiries that lasted eight months and culminated in the investigation of two people for committing a crime against the protection of flora and fauna.
The specimen, which had a GPS device fitted, was part of a breeding and reintroduction programme in the wild, having been born in captivity and released in 2015 in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas natural park.
The second incident happened in 2021, in the high plateau of Albacete province (natural park of Los Calares del Mundo y de la Sima), next to the border with the province of Jaen (also a natural park - namely las Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas). After an arduous investigation that lasted two years, it culminated in a case made against three persons in June 2023 for the commission of a crime against the protection of flora and fauna.
With this latest incident in February 2024, Seprona has investigated a total of six persons for the commission of three offences against the protection of flora and fauna.
It is worth mentioning the excellent collaboration of the Albacete's unit of environmental agents, both in these cases of wildlife shot by firearms and when animals are found dead in the natural environment for other criminal reasons.
The Guardia Civil reminds members of the public that if they find any injured wild species, they should call the Guardia Civil's 062 emergency telephone number, indicating the location of the find or the geographical coordinates, using the GPS of their mobile phone.
Likewise, the animal should not be touched, as it may be injured or may attack in an attempt to defend itself. It is necessary to wait for the arrival of the Seprona officers, who are specialists in handling and transferring these animals safely to a specialised centre.
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