Endangered Spanish lynx shot dead – police appeal for information

POLICE have asked for help to find out who shot an endangered Iberian lynx at close-range in Jaen province, Andalucia, Spain.

Agents from Seprona , the Guardia Civil´s animal protection unit, have turned to social media to seek  information after confirming that the animal’s death was no accident.

In a post on Twitter, the Guardia Civil asked: “Do you know who shot a lynx in Sierra Morena?

“Help us to hunt them down. 

“Hunters are usually respectful.”

An autopsy confirmed that the female lynx, which weighed 9.5 kilograms and was just over one-year-old, was shot at close range, approximately five to ten metres.

An x-ray revealed more than 100 fragments of lead were inside its body.

The corpse of the endangered species was found in a small hunting ground in Villanueva de la Reina, a municipality in Jaen, and police are taking statements from those associated with the area.

The Andalucian Hunting Federation has condemned the act, they said in a statement: “Those who carry out these types of acts are furtive delinquents.

“The hunter can only be called a hunter when he respects the law and loves the countryside and nature.”

The co-operation of hunters has been sought since the beginning of the Iberlince program which has aimed to save the wild cat from the brink of extinction which the species faced at the beginning of the century.

Between 2002 and 2016, 95 lynx deaths were recorded as a result of collisions with vehicles but 25 deaths have been attributed to hunters.