Malaga City court fines defendant guilty of killing protected eagle owl €2,700

A COURT in Malaga City has fined a defendant found guilty of killing a protected owl €2,700 and has disqualified him from hunting for three years.

The Eighth Criminal Court heard police pulled the man over while he was driving on the A-357 in the Coin area.

Prosecutors said the body of the eagle owl, a species protected under Andalucian, Spanish and EU law, was found under the driver’s seat.

Investigators found two shotgun shells lodged in the bird’s back during an inspection. The defendant had shot it a day before police found the owl’s body in his car, the court heard.

The court has ordered the defendant to pay the €2,700 fine at a rate of €10 a day. Hunting laws at a regional, national and EU level prohibit the hunting of eagle owls throughout the year without exception.