Three arrested, including a minor, for hunting shearwater chicks in Charco del Palo

It was a citizen who was in the area who alerted the Civil Guard

September 28 2020 (14:08 WEST)
Updated in September 28 2020 (14:44 WEST)
Image of the shearwater chicks that the detainees had in a sack in El Charco del Palo
Image of the shearwater chicks that the detainees had in a sack in El Charco del Palo

Agents of the Rapid Intervention Group and the Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) of Lanzarote proceeded on September 26 to arrest three people -including a minor- after being caught red-handed hunting shearwater chicks in the Charco del Palo area, on the border between the municipalities of Teguise and Haría.

A citizen who was in the area observed several people apparently looking in several holes and cracks, so he immediately notified the Civil Guard, who immediately surprised two adults and a minor next to a vehicle, in the Charco del Palo area, with intentions to practice fishing according to their first statements.

However, the agents observed that they lacked fishing gear, carried a basket to transport ferrets and an empty brown cloth bag, so they were identified and the area was immediately inspected, finding a rope tied to a rock a few meters from the vehicle, which was inserted into a hollow in the cliff.

Ferret with which the detainees were hunting shearwaters
Ferret with which the detainees were hunting shearwaters

Inside the hollow, a ferret and a young specimen of a live Cory's shearwater were found tied to the other end of the rope; they also located another brown bag containing four corpses of young Cory's shearwater specimens; the aforementioned people - residents of the municipality of Tinajo - immediately recognizing that they were hunting shearwaters, assisted by the ferret, so they were immediately arrested as alleged perpetrators of a crime related to the protection of flora and fauna.

The corpses of shearwaters were delivered to the corresponding area of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, collecting the appropriate technical reports to attach them to the appropriate police proceedings; for its part, the ferret was deposited in municipal facilities in Teguise and the live shearwater was returned to its respective nest.

The Cory's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea boreales) is included in the List of species included in the List of Species under Special Protection Regime, and the Spanish Catalog of Threatened Species, not appearing as a game species in Spanish regulations.

 

Penalties of six to two years in prison or a fine

The Penal Code punishes the conduct described in the criminal type with penalties of six months to two years in prison or a fine of eight to twenty-four months and, in any case, special disqualification for profession or trade and special disqualification for the exercise of the right to hunt or fish for a time of two to four years.

The detainees have been placed at the disposal of the corresponding Court, on guard duty, in the town of Arrecife, with the minor - son of one of the detainees - being placed at the disposal of the Prosecutor's Office for Minors of Las Palmas. The police proceedings carried out by SEPRONA will in turn be made available to the Environmental Prosecutor's Office of Las Palmas.

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