At the end of last summer a friend of BBT heard a shot soon after seeing a short-toed eagle diving to the ground. It was clear to him that the eagle was attacking some chickens and that the owner, who had been waiting, had shot the eagle. He approached the person responsible for the shot who admitted that this was what he had done but, according to him, only wanting to frighten it. The injured eagle was found in the garden of an adjacent home and almost immediately the Ertzaintza arrived and the Base Gorria department came to take the bird to the recovery centre in Gorliz.
You would think that there was enough evidence to show that the eagle had been shot by the chicken owner but when we eventually were able to take the case to court with the reluctant the judge concluded that there was no forensic evidence to show that the bird had been shot as the bullet must have passed through the feathers leaving no trace.
We must criticize the attitude of the police on duty in Mungia police-station who seemed at all times reluctant to do anything about the case. Having spoken to neighbours in the vicinity of the place where the bird was shot it would seem clear that this was not an isolated incident and that despite being beside a “bidegorri” there are often shootings in this area. And it would seem that we are not the only people who have complained about the Ertzaintza`s reluctance to investigate environmental crimes. In fact, there is a general belief amongst ecologists that if you want something done more seriously you`re better reporting it to the Guardia Civil`s Seprona section !! Hopefully, we won`t have to go that far the next time but the thought of going to the Ertzaintza in Mungia and being listened to in a totally apathetic way might mean there is little other option.
Finally, BBT would like to thank both Oscar Padura, the lawyer who works for Eguzki ecological group, and Idoia Gutierrez, the attorney from Mungia and friend of BBT, for all the unselfish help that they have given us.
