An investigation by the Malaga Guardia Civil's Seprona nature protection unit has led to two men appearing before the court for stealing birds of ... prey chicks from their nests for their subsequent illegal trafficking.
Seprona launched an investigation following various reports from the falconry community, which raised the alarm about the possible existence of a group of people who, coinciding with the breeding seasons of birds of prey, were travelling to wooded areas to locate occupied nests and remove the chicks. SEOBirdLife has joined the proceedings as a private prosecutor.
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The suspects had specialist knowledge of the species and their breeding sites. Once they had located the nests of birds of prey such as the northern goshawk and the common sparrowhawk, they allegedly climbed the trees to steal the chicks. The investigation suggests that they left some chicks in the nests so that the breeding pairs would continue to use these sites and be able to breed there again in subsequent years
The investigation indicates that the perpetrators channelled the stolen specimens through the administrative system, with the aim of making them appear to have been obtained legally. They reportedly used an authorised breeding centre and issued closed metal rings and documentation to present the animals as having been legally born in captivity at those facilities.
Surveillance operations helped Seprona locate the suspects in a wooded area of the Alhaurín el Grande mountains. The unit intercepted the vehicle in which they were travelling and found, inside a rucksack, two sparrowhawk chicks, without rings or any regulatory markings, which the perpetrators had presumably just taken from their nests.
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The police found ten metal rings alongside the birds, ready to be fitted to them in order to make it appear as though they had been obtained legally. Seprona subsequently arrested the two suspects and searched their homes and the animal centre.
During the searches, the police seized a large quantity of documentation, handwritten notes and sketches indicating the location of nests allegedly intended to be plundered. In addition, they took DNA samples from the birds, with the aim of determining through expert analysis whether there was any kinship between the seized birds and the breeding pairs at the centre.
According to the findings, the suspects had drawn up false certificates and commercial transfer documents with the intention of passing off the wild specimens as birds hatched from the centre's breeding pairs. This documentation would have enabled their subsequent introduction onto the commercial market, despite existing trade restrictions.
Undocumented birds of prey
The investigation enabled the identification of other birds whose lawful origin could not be verified. During the operations, Seprona found 14 goshawks and a total of 66 birds of prey whose legal origin could not be verified, with evidence suggesting that they may have been obtained through systematic poaching in the wild.
The incidents under investigation may, however, have a much broader temporal and geographical scope. The proceedings will reveal whether those under investigation may have been engaged in the systematic plundering of nests at various locations across Andalucía on an ongoing basis since at least 2003.
During the investigation, the police found serious irregularities in the documentation, which could constitute alleged offences of document forgery.
SEOBirdLife will act as a private prosecutor in the ongoing case to help eradicate the plundering and illegal trafficking of species, ensure compliance with environmental legislation and, where appropriate, demand that those responsible be held to account and that the damage caused to our natural heritage be remedied.
The plundering of nests poses a direct threat to the conservation of birds of prey. The removal of chicks affects the breeding success of pairs and reduces the size of wild populations.
This intervention in the proceedings forms part of the Life Eurokite project and is in line with SEOBirdLifes statutory objectives, which include the defence of the environment, the conservation of biodiversity and the promotion of environmental law, with a particular focus on protecting wild species from illegal activities that threaten the natural environment.