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ARCHIVED - Landmark case in Spain as Barcelona sues company for electrocuting birds
Barcelona’s Prosecutor’s Office has initiated actions against Spanish electricity company Endesa
The Environmental Prosecutor’s Office has filed a complaint against an electricity company which it claims has not adopted sufficient measures to adapt its power lines to prevent the deaths of protected bird species. This is the first legal action of its kind in Spain.
After two years of investigations, last April, Barcelona Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated actions against Endesa and six of its executives for crimes against the environment and the protection of fauna.
According to reports from Rural Agents, several electrical towers have dangerous supports and unprotected cables which have led to the electrocution of dozens of birds in recent months. Many of the birds belong to protected species, including storks, vultures, goshawks, eagles, harriers and kestrels. A 2008 royal decree established preventative measures against this kind of accident, something which prosecutors claim Endesa hasn’t followed through on, and now they are asking the court to force the electricity company to repair its defective power lines.
The official documentation shows that 255 birds were electrocuted in the Osona region alone between 2018 and 2020, while 72 white storks were killed between August 3 and 5 of 2020, when they entered the area on their annual migration to Africa. The prosecutors claim that Endesa has repeatedly ignored their requests to resolve the situation, acting in only the most serious cases.
The Department of Agriculture and Natural Environment issued a resolution in 2013 that ordered the owners of high-voltage overhead power lines that did not comply with technical specifications to present a project to adapt the supports within one year. While Endesa agreed to undertake the work, the company then failed to maintain its equipment.
In Spain, collisions with electrical lines is one of the main causes of bird mortality, with recent studies showing that between 11,000 and 33,000 birds of prey are killed by electrocution each year. It is the main cause of death for several species, including the endangered Iberian imperial eagle, Bonelli’s eagle and the bustard.
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