The lynx seized in Madeira will be returned to the owners, the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment announced this afternoon in a statement.
According to the same source, the animal, named Bores, will be in the custody of the owners “until the conclusion of the administrative offence process and final decision”.
The statement adds that it received, yesterday, on paper, the petition that has been circulating on social networks and that “it will be sent to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the national entity competent to equate/review the current legislation.”
The full statement reads:
“1. As disclosed, during a house search warrant, authorized by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the GNR seized a specimen of desert lynx.
2. As no document relating to the animal and/or licensing has been submitted certifying its possession, as it is a specimen of a species listed in Annex IIb to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of fauna and wild animals, which establishes a list of animal and plant species whose trade is subject to restrictions or control, it was decided by the judicial authority to precautionarily seize the lynx based on the legislation that establishes the measures necessary for compliance with and application in national territory of the CITES Convention, constituting a third party as the faithful depositary of the animal.
3. The report drawn up by the GNR was sent to the IFCN, IP-RAM, within the scope of its competences for the administrative offence proceedings to take place in their legal proceedings.
4. The IFCN, IP-RAM was notified today, July 31st, by the entity established as trustee, about its unavailability to maintain the custody of the wild animal.
5. Yesterday, July 30th, after 9:49 pm, the IFCN IP-RAM received from the defendant’s forensic representatives, by electronic communication, a report from the veterinarian, attesting that “for the well-being and safety of the animal, the owners should remain as its faithful custodians”.
6. In conjunction with the provisions of points 4 and 5, the wild animal will be, as of today, in the custody of the owners, until the conclusion of the administrative offence proceedings and the respective final decision.
7. The public petition published on social networks, received on paper at the IFCN IP-RAM on July 30, 2024, will be sent to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the national entity competent to consider/review the current legislation.”
Let’s hope common sense prevails and Bores remains in the care of those who love him.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
