A farmer in Castril, Granada, is facing up to three years in prison on suspicion of poisoning a female osprey released into Andalucia as part of a Ministry of Environment reintroduction programme.
An autopsy on the osprey, named Segura, showed that the death could have been the result of insecticide poisoning.
The Public Prosecutor is requesting a €3,600 fine and disqualification from holding a hunting licence for three years. A private prosecution, brought by the Council, is requesting a €6,000 fine and three years imprisonment for the farmer, 68 year old J.G.G.
This is the first time in Europe that a Council has brought a private prosecution for the alleged use of illegal poisons.
The accused was arrested by SEPRONA officers in May 2008 while in the act of putting out traps baited with poisoned meat in the Parque Natural Sierra de Castril.
The bird, born in Cazorla in 2007, had been released into the wild under the reintroduction programme and was apparently adapting well, seeking its own food and shelter.