This is a news item taken from the Spanish newspaper El Periódico, Friday 30/05/08:
On Thursday 29th May 2008 Carles Casas, ex-president of the basketball Club TDK Manresa, was sentenced to 14 months in prison by the courts of Lleida. He admitted to having used poison to kill animals on a game preserve near Tàrrega, Lleida. However, he can commute the sentence by paying a fine of 2,520 euros.
In 2005 the rural agents of Catalonia discovered that he had killed at least 7 animals using this illegal and indiscriminate method, including protected species such as Wildcat and a number of raptors.
It was not the first time that Casas had tried to poison fauna, as previously in 2003 he was caught in fraganti by the rural guards while in the process of preparing poisoned meat.
Personal comment: Well at last the judicial process has gone the whole way and taken the laws on the protection of fauna seriously enough to sentence someone. Many would have liked to see a harsher sentence, but at least the precedent has been set. So a word of warning to all potential wildlife-bashers: the law does have teeth and is prepared to use them at times.
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