Spain: Hobby hunters convicted of lynx poaching

Two years in prison and 114’158 euros in damages

The criminal court of Don Benito in Badajoz has sentenced a man to two years in prison for killing a lynx with a shotgun. The convicted man must pay 114’158 euros for the damage caused by the loss of the animal.

The hobby hunter shot the lynx as the protected animal approached the cage in which a partridge was being used as bait. The autopsy revealed approximately 80 pellet projectiles in the skull, chest and leg regions.

Iberian lynx recovering slowly

The Spanish government reports around 1’200 specimens in 2021. In Portugal too, the animals were able to be reintroduced through rewilding programmes. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has since reclassified the previously “Critically Endangered” species as “Endangered”. More on the topic of species protection, poaching and crime and hunting.