The Fundación Oso Pardo (Brown Bear Foundation) have identified three blackspots in the Cordillera Cantábrica as being the main zones where poisoned bait is still being laid,
namely the area in the far west of the Cantabrian mountains around the borders of Galicia, Asturias and León, the Picos de Europa and the Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre Natural Park in Palencia province. This isn't news to the people that live here of course, but good for embarrassing the local authorities into some sort of action and for concentrating efforts into erradicating the practice.
Lumps of meat laced with poison (usually the EU-banned pesticides Carbofuran and Aldicarb) are laid to kill wolves. Other carrion-eating wildlife, however, are also subjected to a cruel death by this method, for example, four bears in the last eleven years have died in the Palencian mountains alone. Vultures are also affected. The plan to reintroduce Lammergeier to the Picos de Europa has been held back for years now because of the threat of them coming into contact with poison. Forty birds have died since 1990 in the whole of Spain.
Over the past 20 years, Teresa Farino has compiled a 90-page report (A4) which includes lists of all the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies and vascular plants ever recorded in the Picos de Europa, plus summaries of each of these groups and an 8-page introduction to the wildlife of these mountains. If you would like to purchase a printed copy, the price is €17.50, excluding postage & packaging. An electronic copy is €11.
