It’s from ecocide the accusation made against an entrepreneur from Argentina, who ended up in court in the province of Chubut for having devastated the biodiversity of Patagonia and its fauna. Hundreds of Magellanic penguins have been killed and nests destroyed.
The facts date back to 2021 when the entrepreneur has started work to build a road and install an electrified fence without any authorization near the Punta Tombo reserve.
The area is known to be a very important Magellanic penguin nesting site, Spheniscus magellanicus. The largest continental colony of this protected species in Argentina is located here, but an unprecedented massacre occurred that year.
The use of excavators during the works crushed and removed the penguins’ eggs, dealing a huge blow to the nesting population and its conservation. An estimated 175 nests with eggs were lost and the chicks died.
The environmental protection organization Greenpeace filed a complaint. Together with the Patagonia Natural Foundation and the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers (AAdeAA), it formed a civil party.
The trial began on October 28th. The subject was found guilty of aggravated environmental damage and cruelty to animals. To demand justice for the penguins of Patagonia, Greenpeace has launched a signature collection.
HISTORICAL TRUE IN THE CAUSE OF THE PINGUINOS OF PUNTA TOMBO
From Greenpeace Argentina, joined the Fundación…
Posted by Greenpeace Argentina on Thursday, November 7, 2024
Activists point out that the case has no precedent at a national level. The crime committed increasingly testifies to the need to sanction these environmental crimes, the consequences of which nature pays for.
We are facing a historic condemnation and a decisive turning point in the fight against environmental impunity in Argentina. It is a powerful precedent that tackles ecological crime. Today justice has sent a very clear message to the whole of society: destroying nature and mistreating non-human animals has criminal consequences” commented Lucas Micheloud, environmental lawyer and co-director of the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers.
The sentence with relative punishment should be issued in the next few hours.
