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Date Published: 23/11/2022
ARCHIVED - Murcia landowner faces court action after power line electrocution of eagle owls
Two birds of prey died after colliding with a high-voltage power line in Javalí Viejo, Region of Murcia
Sadly, death by electrocution is not uncommon amongst bird species as many landowners and even electrical companies fail to protect power lines.
And now, in only the second case of its kind in the Region of Murcia, a private landowner faces court action charged with a possible crime against wildlife following the death by electrocution of two eagle owls in the Contraparada area of Javalí Viejo.
The Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Region of Murcia has filed a complaint with the courts after the case was brought to its attention by the Association of Naturalists of the Southeast (ANSE), which reported "the death of birds of prey on an unprotected power line owned by a private individual".
ANSE initially reported the death of one eagle owl, and following the demise of a second, the Prosecutor has deemed there has been a "negligent omission by the owner of the line" since, after the first fatal electrocution, the Regional Ministry of the Environment warned the landowner that he should "correct the power line" and this was never done.
It's not clear when the deaths occurred.
The Public Prosecutor's Office has closed a number of cases involving the deaths of various protected bird species in recent years. In some of them, it established as a criterion that there should be "new incidents of collision or electrocution on these pylons, about which the owner of the line would already have been warned for correction, when a crime against natural resources could be detected".
ANSE has welcomed the judicial step being taken by the Office on an issue it has been raising awareness about for years, and fighting for those responsible to be held accountable.
Recently, the association held a training course for environmental officers and technicians where it was highlighted that Murcia is a "black spot" for birds due to the "lack of protected power lines".
The Region's first criminal case, following the death of at least six eagle owls in Jumilla last year, is still ongoing after the irrigation community that owns the power line requested proceedings be dismissed "because the lines have been corrected". The Prosecutor's Office and ANSE are both opposed to the case being thrown out.
"The fact that the adaptation of the pylons and the laying of the power line took place after the facts denounced does not imply atypicality or exemption from responsibility as the consummation of the criminal offences already took place at the time of our complaint," argued the Environmental Prosecutor, Miguel de Mata.
Image: Asociación de Naturalistas del Sureste (ANSE)
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