Some great news and the right decision.
The desert lynx seized in Madeira will be returned to its 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 remain in the custody of the owners “until the conclusion of the administrative offence process and respective final decision”.
The Ministry of Health said that it received, yesterday, in paper form, the petition that had been circulating on social media and that “it will be sent to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the national entity responsible for considering/reviewing current legislation”.
Read the full statement:
“1. As reported, 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 entitling its possession was presented, as it is a specimen of a species listed in Annex II-B of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora, which establishes a list of animal and plant species whose trade is subject to restrictions or controls, the judicial authority decided to seize the lynx as a precautionary measure based on the legislation that establishes the measures necessary for compliance with and application in national territory of the CITES Convention, appointing a third party as the animal’s trustee.
3. The report drawn up by the GNR was sent to the IFCN, IP-RAM, within the scope of its powers for the administrative offence proceedings to follow their legal procedures.
4. The IFCN, IP-RAM was notified today, July 31, by the entity established as the trustee, about its unavailability to maintain custody of the wild animal.
5. Yesterday, July 30, after 9:49 p.m., the IFCN IP-RAM received from the defendant’s forensic representatives, via electronic communication, a report from the veterinarian, attesting that “for the well-being and safety of the animal, the owners should remain as its trustees”.
6. In conjunction with the provisions set out in points 4 and 5, the wild animal will, from today onwards, remain in the custody of the owners, until the conclusion of the administrative offence proceedings and respective final decision.
7. The public petition published on social media, received on paper at IFCN IP-RAM on July 30, 2024, will be sent to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the national entity responsible for assessing/reviewing current legislation.”