Illegal traps snatched

ADMINISTRATIVE actions have been launched by the Environmental Department against the owner of 10 illegal bird traps found in a stream in the Sierra de Filabres, the regional government has reported.

The traps were confiscated following a surveillance operation last week when the environmental officers were informed of the presence of illegal bird-catching equipment in the area. The 10 traps were found placed along a 200-metre stretch of stream bed and the owner identified when he was seen arriving with a jar of the same insects used in the traps as bait. His fingerprints and the tyre marks of his car were found to match those found near the traps, environmental officers reported.

Various dead birds of protected species, including four robins and a thrush, were found inside the traps and those found alive were freed, the government department explained.

The traps, which are forbidden under the 2003 Andalucian Wild Flora and Fauna Law, use insects as bait to attract birds inside, triggering a mechanism to trap them inside.

regional environmental delegate Antonio Martinez praised the professional work of environmental officers to confiscate this type of trap and stressed that they particularly harm small, insect-eating birds which play a vital role in the ecosystem by controlling insect population.

Martinez urged anyone who sees illegal traps in the countryside to inform the environmental authorities or 112 emergency services.