The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, Ana Leiva, today inaugurated the course “The illegal use of poisoned baits in rural areas”, together with Commander Félix Carrasco and Lieutenant Colonel Modesto Piriz Ramos of the Nature Protection Service of the Civil Guard (SEPRONA).

During the opening ceremony, which took place at the Specialization Center of the Civil Guard, in Valdemoro, the importance of the actions against the use of poisoned baits carried out jointly by SEPRONA, the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Environment and Urban Planning, public administrations, the Biodiversity Foundation and other environmental organizations was highlighted. Initiatives such as this one aim to contribute to the eradication of the use of poisoned baits for predator control, which affects endangered protected species, and to promote compliance with current legislation on the matter.

The course, which will take place until next Friday, May 29, at the aforementioned Specialization Center, is aimed at members of SEPRONA – who are in charge of the lifting and custody of allegedly poisoned animals or baits – with the aim of training them in an eminently practical way in the fight against poison in our territory. Among the topics addressed, the following stand out: the legislative framework of protected species in Spain, the use of poison and its impact on the natural environment, the prosecution of crime and the actions of the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Environment and Urban Planning and an approach to the “Antidote” Program, created in 1998, as well as to the NGOs that actively work against this problem.

The course is part of a collaboration protocol signed between the Biodiversity Foundation and SEPRONA to deepen the collaboration between both institutions and reinforce the training of SEPRONA personnel in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

AN ENEMY OF EMBLEMATIC SPECIES

From 1997 to 2008, more than 6,000 animals have died from the poison. Among these animals, there are numerous specimens of endangered species. The loss of 70 black vultures, 300 griffon vultures, 7 imperial eagles, 23 Egyptian vultures and 350 kites can be noted. Although it is estimated that, due to the difficulty of accessing real figures, the above data account for only 10 percent of general conditions.

SEPRONA has carried out more than 1,300 actions to detect toxic baits and an average of 10 arrests have been made annually for these crimes; some have exemplary sentences.

The use of poison has been a historical problem for our species, which was aggravated in the 90s by the rise of hunting reserves. In 2004, the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs approved the National Strategy against the Use of Poisoned Baits. Subsequently, the Natural Heritage and Biodiversity Law has expressly prohibited the use of poisoned baits. With the new legislation and the updating of analysis tools, important steps have been taken, but the problem remains.

PARTICIPATION, DETECTION AND REPORTING

The Biodiversity Foundation and the Foundation for the Conservation of the Black Vulture have been carrying out, for three years, a project that constitutes a contribution to the Antidote Programme for the fight against poison in the natural environment in Spain and Portugal, in which the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, General Directorates of the Environment of several Autonomous Communities also participate, SEPRONA, the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation, different nature conservation NGOs in Spain and agricultural unions.

This initiative aims to extend the Spanish experience against the use of poison to other European countries, contribute to its detection, facilitate the action of the competent authorities, increase awareness and promote participation, promote judicial proceedings, increase the effectiveness of the resources available in the fight against poison, and renew a common front of organizations in relation to this problem.

Another of the actions included in this project is the maintenance, management and dissemination of the SOS Veneno telephone, a free telephone number created in 1999 to answer calls related to the procedure for action in cases of poisoning and to report cases of poison that are transmitted to the competent authorities and NGOs involved in the Antidote Programme.

The toll-free line 900 713 182 attends to possible complaints about the illegal use of poison in any locality of the national territory. It is a tool to encourage participation in conservation, raise the level of social awareness about the negative consequences of the illegal use of poison, achieve citizen collaboration in the detection of its use in the natural environment and ensure that this social collaboration is effective.