We won the case!
Newsletter 16/09/2016
Almost 4 years ago, on October 13, 2012, the female Northern Bald Ibis “GOJA” and her offspring “JEDI” were shot by an Italian bird hunter in the province Livorno, just 80 km from the wintering site. The hunter had the licence to hunt on woodpigeon. On September 13, 2016, the final hearing in the Livorno tribunal ended with the judgment. The hunter has been recognized guilty, condemned and his hunting licence has been withdrawn.
Illegal hunting was the major threat for the bird released in the reintroduction project since the beginning. But the case of GOJA and JEDI is the first and, so far, the only case where the hunter could be identified. Therefore, it is of outstanding relevance for the LIFE+ project that the hunter is convicted. This precedent case is a clear signal to the minority of hunters who don’t care about endangered and protected species. Poaching is not a trivial matter but a serious threat to endangered species like the Northern Bald Ibises. Once more, we want to thank our lawyer Mrs. Carla Campanaro and the Provincial Police of Livorno for their engagement in this case.
The judgment came just in time for the start of the bird hunting season in Italy. The relevance is indicated by the fact that on September 1 2016, the first day of the hunting season in the Tuscany, a subadult Northern Bald Ibis was found dead in a field near Punta Ala (Grosseto Province). A first X-ray indicates pellets in the body, but the veterinary examination is still ongoing.
The condemn is minor with 2000 €, mainly because it is his first penal condemn for the hunter and in 2012 the project was rather unknown in Italy. Anyhow, the judgment opens the way to Waldrappteam and its partners for a civil lawsuit to compensate the damage, which is estimated with about € 20.000. If any further poacher will be found responsible of poaching of additional Ibises, the Livorno case will represent an important precedent to have recognized penal and civil penalties. Präzedenzfall gegen illegal Vogeljagd in Italien.
Picture (AG Schmalstieg): Reason for Hope! The verdict against the hunter will hopefully make the flights of Northern Bald Ibises and other endangered species more secure.
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