WELL-KNOWN PALERMO POACHER ARRESTED WHILE TRAPPPING GOLDFINCHES ALONG THE RIVER IMERA
WELL-KNOWN PALERMO POACHER ARRESTED WHILE TRAPPPING GOLDFINCHES ALONG THE RIVER IMERA
A well-known Palermo bird-catcher was stopped in the town of Buonfornello (PA) on the bed of the River Imera by the Carabinieri Forestali of the CITES Unit of the Nature Crime Centre of Palermo and placed under arrest because has was caught in the act of the crime of hunting theft (wildlife is State property caught for illegal means).
On the spot, the Caribinieri found fine meshed fishing nets used for trapping birds placed on the river bed where the suspect had diverted the waterway and prepared a grass bed with two goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis) on a string and tied to the ground, plus another bird just captured and put in a cage, all used as live decoys.
In addition, reflective tapes were used to ward off birds and direct them to the location of the net that were found along the river. All material has been seized, including the car without insurance. The birds have been brought to the Wildlife Recovery Centre in Ficuzza where they will be released once they are recovered from this incident.
Once again, it is Lipu that reported this the incident thanks to investigations and inspections in synergy with the Carabinieri Forestali of the CITES unit of the Nature Crime Centre of Palermo, which had important results against poaching. Early as last year, the same person had been caught by the same Officers of Carabinieri Forestali along the Imera River.
The man has been already reported in the past on several occasions. This time it will be a larger sentence because his uninsured car has also been seized.
” Without their intervention, the Goldfinches, once captured, would have ended up for sale at the well-known market of Ballarò where many of them would probably have died. In fact, several of the finches die during capture or from stress during captivity in small cages full of birds and in very poor hygienic conditions,” continues Lipu, who also stated that the Goldfinch is the most trapped species, and is protected by the Bern Convention on the Conservation of Wildlife.
In the summer, in a very dry season, poachers move to river beds where birds concentrate to drink and wash their plumage and are therefore easier to catch .
Source: LIPU 22-06-2020 Photo: Carabinieri CITES Palermo
via Umberto Gallo-Orsi. IMPEL-ESIX