Over the last quarter-century, more than 21,000 animals have been documented dead in Spain due to illegal poisoning. The real total could be far higher, possibly up to 200,000, because many remains vanish before they can be counted. A nonprofit coalition, SEO/BirdLife, released an audiovisual summary tracing the history of the fight against this illegal practice and highlighting key milestones that have helped prevention and enforcement progress.
Spain is described as a leading nation in confronting this crime, according to SEO/BirdLife, which produced the video as part of the BirdLife International project Mava Safe Flyways–Combating toxic black spots in Spain. The audiovisual project is funded by the Maia Foundation, an organization dedicated to biodiversity conservation.
The report Poison in Spain. The Evolution of Wildlife Poisoning (1992-2017) by David de la Bodega (SEO/BirdLife), Carlos Cano (WWF), and Eva Mínguez shows how poison baits—often meat offal treated with pesticides—were used as a mass, non-selective, and brutal method of predator control. The approach harmed many non-target species, including endangered wildlife and domestic animals.
It is stated in the report that poison does not target a single species; any animal, and sometimes humans, can be affected because the substances used cause quick, painful, and violent deaths for those exposed.
The documentary examines the fight against illegal poisoning through the work of professionals from various fields who contribute to the effort.
Cooperation and teamwork
Among those involved is a lawyer with extensive experience in protecting nature from this crime, who appears throughout the narrative to reinforce the testimony and outline the evolution of the struggle.
The documentary notes the extraordinary spirit of cooperation and teamwork. It emphasizes that progress came from efforts across multiple fronts to address the problem effectively.
A survey of BirdLife Europe partners in 13 countries found that the tools available to combat this threat are often patchy and scarce compared with Spain.
Most of the countries surveyed lack national action plans against poison use and suffer from insufficient public laboratories to perform affordable toxicology analyses, adds SEO/BirdLife’s leader.
The organization notes that Spain’s experience in overcoming these obstacles could help neighboring countries advance in the fight against this threat.
For this reason, disseminating the achievements in this field at the international level is seen as essential. SEO/BirdLife credits many milestones to initiatives such as LIFE Poison, which achieved notable progress a few years ago.
The illegal use of poison in natural environments is a global issue, but the intensity varies by region.
The report warns that species with migratory and necrophagous habits, such as the red kite or the Egyptian vulture, may be destroyed or their populations disrupted at wintering sites due to poisoning.
Prevent and track
Preventing and prosecuting illegal poisoning is a shared responsibility that protects not only resident species but also migratory ones, according to SEO/BirdLife.
The text calls for strengthening the European alliance and extending cooperation across continents to confront the threat by all available means and to share valuable experiences developed in this area.
The practice persists: in the first half of this year, several specimens of two endangered species were confirmed dead from poisoning. Data from the Spanish Catalog of Endangered Species and the Red Book of Birds in Spain show at least four Iberian imperial eagles in Castilla-La Mancha and 17 kites across Castilla y León. Other regions have yet to report data.
The ongoing data collection aims to unite efforts and improve crime prevention, providing better indicators to guide policy and enforcement actions that curb this practice.
Poison has severe consequences for conservation, destabilizing food chains and animal communities, creating imbalances, and compromising ecosystem services provided by affected taxa.
The losses and the costs of replacing them should be considered when assessing the overall impact on ecosystems, according to SEO/BirdLife.
The illegal use of poison is a crime. National law can impose prison terms up to two years and additional sanctions from one to three years.
A report on poisoning in Spain provides a foundation for ongoing work and future updates. .