Spain: Hobby hunter sentenced to 45 years in prison
In Spain, a hobby hunter is sentenced to 45 years in prison. He had shot and seriously injured several people during a driven hunt.
A hobby hunter who murdered two Spanish game wardens in Catalonia has been sentenced to 45 years in prison and must pay more than one million euros to the families of the victims.
The game wardens Xavier Ribes Villas and David Iglesias Díez, who had been working as employees in Lleida in western Catalonia, were on a routine patrol on Saturday, 21 January 2017, when they encountered a group of hobby hunters near the small village of Aspa.
One of the hobby hunters, Ismael Rodríguez (28), reacted to the arrival of the game wardens by raising his unlicensed shotgun and shooting Ribes and Iglesias at close range. He then reloaded the weapon and fired again. Both men died at the scene. Ribes was 43 and Iglesias 39. Both left behind a wife and a child.
Rodríguez waited nearly an hour before calling the emergency services. When he finally did, he told the operator: «They came and I got nervous and I don't know why I reacted the way I did.«
The murders shocked game wardens across Spain and prompted their association to request permission to carry handguns for their protection.
At the end of last month, Rodríguez was found guilty of premeditated murder after a jury rejected claims that he could not be held responsible for his actions.
On Monday, a court in Lleida ordered that Rodríguez be imprisoned for 22 years for each murder and for an additional year for illegal possession of a weapon. He was also sentenced to pay a total of 1,077,473.28 euros to the families of Ribes and Iglesias.
The Spanish Association of Forest and Environmental Wardens, which advocates for the training and arming of wildlife rangers, states that in the past, governments have not taken the necessary steps to ensure that wildlife rangers can protect themselves.
Two murders and more than 30 serious attacks in just over two years do not appear to be enough to persuade anyone to consider the proposals of a group of people who deal with environmental crimes on a daily basis. Armed with nothing but a notebook and a pen,
the association stated recently in a press release.
More than 100 wildlife rangers die worldwide every year in the line of duty. They are the victims of deranged hobby hunters or poachers who seek to illegally exploit resources and wildlife.
