On Wednesday, June 4th, Alicante Local Police detained a man who was driving a car loaded with 83 European goldfinches with the intention of transporting them to Algeria for sale via ferry. According to the City Council, the detainee has been charged with a wildlife offence, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
Officers from the Grumai M20 unit of the Local Police, which specialises in security and traffic control activities in tourist and high-traffic areas, made the arrest after observing an overloaded French-registered car making an unusual manoeuvre in response to the police vehicle’s presence.
Local police officers stopped the car and asked the driver for his identity. They also searched the truck and detected a noise coming from several waste bags concealed beneath other belongings. When they removed them, they realised they were multiple cages carrying 83 live goldfinches, which the driver intended to transport to Algeria via boat and sell there.
The birds were apprehended and transported to the Santa Faz Wildlife Recovery Centre, where officials detained the driver for an alleged wildlife offence punishable by up to two years in prison.
Law 42/2007 on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity and Animal Welfare Law 7/2023, enacted on March 28, prohibits the possession, breeding, and trading of wild-caught fringillid birds, including the goldfinch, serin, and greenfinch.
Author: Derek Appleton
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