The Civil Guard has launched arrests and investigations of up to 58 people for crimes against fauna, forged documents and fraud. half a million japanese quail In hunting grounds, it is a prohibited activity as it is an invasive exotic species.
It is the first operation in which an activity related to the release of invasive alien species, in which this interspecies competition occurs, is also investigated from the criminal field of a developing activity.”deliberate and prolonged over time in recent years”, according to the Civil Guard.
The quails are allowed to be raised and marketed for sale for human consumption, but the researchers discovered that these companies have a parallel production line. release and release in game reserves and heavy game reserves during hunting activities.
up to 114 inspections
this ‘Operation Guatlla’It was coordinated by the Prosecutor’s Office of the Chamber of Environment and Urbanization, with three legal entities under investigation, and allowed for as many as 114 inspections in two years, during which SEPRONA Civil Guard agents received more than 300 biological samples to document. It is the invasive species through DNA.
About 90% of the samples were positive, indicating that they were Japanese quail samples or their hybrids. Researchers from January 2019 to September 2021 560,000 specimens grown in the companies surveyed, whose ultimate goal is to be released and released into the natural environment for hunting purposes.
Domestic quail species (coturnix) are highly appreciated for hunting. However, Japanese quail, a species marketed and distributed throughout the country by these companies, are up to ten times more productive and have very similar morphological characteristics, although they behave very differently in the environment, being heavier and less numerous. mobility and therefore easier to hunt.
The main quail producing companies had a real R&D department where they preferred crossbreeding the species. to avoid being noticed by buyers.It can also represent a fraud for consumers who believe they are purchasing national quail.
Hunting and release activitiesSuppose that some of the Japanese quail specimens, whose birds are sold by manufacturers, survive and adapt to the natural environment due to their conditions.
Competition with common quail
Japanese quail (coturnix japonica) competes directly with the common quail (Coturnix coturnix), an indigenous species native to the Spanish national territory and in severe decline, as reported by the Civil Guard.
Entry into the natural environment has an ecological impact, resulting in increased loss of genetic heritage as well as competition with nature. native species removed from the natural environment.
This operation was coordinated by the State Prosecutor’s Office, the Chamber of Environment and Urbanization. The case was transferred to the Criminal Court of First Instance No. 1. leida and number 2 cervix (Lleida).
Representatives cooperated with the Lleida County Prosecutor’s Office and the National Veterinary Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. analysis of genetic samplesalso with the advice and support of inspectors from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Control General Directorate of Biodiversity.
The operation is part of the Spanish Plan of Action. Illegal Trafficking and International Poaching of Wild Species (TIFIES Plan), and Nature’s Life Guards project.