Bonelli’s eagle is endangered in the Region of Murcia and this is largely due to the actions of the companies they own. power lines that they did not take the necessary measures to replace these installations. The Southeast Naturalists Association (ANSE) denounced this. 50 specimens of this raptor have died in the region in the last decadeFor this, various organizations will ask the Prosecutor’s Office to take action on this issue. However, if other species are included, the extent of the damage is multiplied significantly: about 1000 birds in eight years.
In July, the Southeastern Association of Naturalists (ANSE) sent a request to the General Directorate of Natural Environment for consideration of the interested party in open files regarding the alleged electrocution of nine Bonelli eagles registered in the 2021- period. 2022 .
To the letter in question, the aforementioned General Directorate replied that the regional administration had opened 12 files, five of which led to the replacement of the affected electricity tower, and seven of which were in progress.
Records, but not sanctioned
In any case, according to ANSE’s statement, the district administration “from the beginning of 2019 until the moment this reply was signed. No sanction process has been initiated regarding the possible electrocution of Bonelli’s eagle samples.seven open files are in the preprocessing stage”.
“After all, it is admitted that no sanctions are applied for the death of protected birds, and not even the full line, only the support needs to be corrected. Environmental organizations reported the facts to the prosecutor’s office so that the Autonomous Community was compelled to open a disciplinary investigation”, adds the distraught party. “Free to kill Bonelli’s eagles for electricians”.
In the view of environmental organizations, the absence of fines complicates the solution of this serious environmental problem. In accordance with the Environmental Responsibility Law, electricity operators are obliged to “preventively and completely fix the risky lines, and in case of electric shock due to failure to fix, the electricity companies should be sanctioned in the implementation of the Law. 42/2007” .
As the parties pointed out, this legal approach is due, for example, to the Supreme Court’s 1.215/2021 judgment and It differs from other Autonomous Communities where large fines are imposed on electricity companies. for the death of birds protected in the lines.
The environmental organizations of the Region of Murcia (ANSE, STIPA, Naturactua, Ulula, Anida, Meles, Ecologistas en Acción, Caralluma, Calblanque Association, Murcia Clean Region Association) demand effective measures for the immediate solution of deaths from electrocution, and they note the special responsibility of Iberdrola “A significant portion of the deaths occurred on uncorrected power lines that belonged to him. The company announces record profits every year”.
Just at the beginning of 2021, environmental associations made a request to the Autonomous Community with 10 measures to end bird deaths on power lines in the Region of Murcia. “The response was disappointing and the then director general of the Natural Environment (Fulgencio Perona) stated that a decree would be approved for the evaluation of fauna species determining the economic value of each specimen killed by electrocution, but the truth is that no progress has been made in this regard,” he adds.
Public exhibition arrangements
By the way, The regional government of Murcia presented to the public the “Draft Decision on the expansion of electrocution protection zones for avifauna”. In the Region of Murcia, which covers 55% of the regional territory, including the dispersal area of the eagle of the coastal plain of Bonelli (the area where young people are concentrated after leaving the region of origin).
This expansion comes after ANSE’s writings to the Prosecutor’s Office, the Autonomous Community and Mitecord warning of serious eagle deaths occurring in that area and its state-level implications.
Regarding this Order, the environmental NGOs mentioned above presented arguments demanding that it be extended to practically the entire regional territory and highlighting the existence of disputed areas excluded from the Order (for example, areas of potential recolonisation of the bearded vulture at Moratalla or areas important to the Bonelli eagle, such as the southern half of Campo de Cartagena or its environs). Sierras de las Victorias and Pericon).
Bonelli’s eagle One of the most threatened birds in the Region with just 22 nesting pairs and listed as ‘endangered’, therefore, has an approved Recovery Plan that requires public money to be invested in its preservation. According to data from the Autonomous Community itself, about 50 Bonelli eagles have died from alleged electrocution in the Region of Murcia in the last 10 years, which is the main cause of unnatural death.
Around 1000 birds died in eight years in the Region of Murcia alone
However, the danger of this bird of prey suffering from power lines is only a small part of the picture. More than 900 birds have died from the same cause in the past eight years, according to ANSE, which was made public last year. The association does not hesitate to describe the number of losses in power lines in the area as “not receptive”, as most of the recorded incidents correspond to protected species. extreme numbers of critically endangered species“.
Some examples show the scale of the problem: almost 300 eagle-owls have perished in the last eight years (bubo bubo) or more than 150 kestrels (Falco tinnunculus). Other affected species are griffon vulture (61), short-toed eagle (51) or white stork (43). With 24 pairs in the region and 42 lost specimens, the Bonelli eagle deserves special mention as a species cataloged as ‘Endangered’. Last year, ANSE, ANIDA and STIPA referred the deaths of 11 eagle-owls (3 in Yecla, 2 in Mazarrón, 6 in Jumilla) to the Prosecutor’s Office, which occurred at the time and for which “no action was taken”.
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