Argentine farmer Ricardo La Regina has been handed a three-year prison sentence for the slaughter of over 100 Patagonian penguin chicks, though he will likely not serve time behind bars.
The sheep farmer from the southern province of Chubut was found guilty last month of animal cruelty and harm through the destruction of dozens of nests and the killing chicks.
Prosecutors said he had been conviction of “harming the environment and causing the death of Magellanic penguins by clearing land on his farm north of the Punta Tombo nature reserve,” which is home to one of the species’ main colonies on the Atlantic coast.
But the farmer is unlikely to be incarcerated as Argentina's penal code recommends alternatives to prison for a first conviction and sentences up to three years.
A judge can now decide that the application of the sentence should be suspended while La Regina complies with conditions imposed by the court.
Prosecutor María Florencia Gómez, who had requested four years in prison for the accused, argued that the livestock farmer acted with “cruelty” and caused “irreversible” damage to local fauna and flora.
Environmental group Greenpeace, a plaintiff in the case, had welcomed the farmer's conviction as "an important step for environmental justice."
It noted that the court also imposed “strict rules of conduct” on La Regina, including a ban on driving large vehicles and carrying out unauthorised work in the area, as well as the confiscation of tools used in the crimes.
“The ruling not only imposes an exemplary sentence, but also sets a precedent in the defence of our country's ecosystems,” said Greenpeace, describing the incident as “ecocide.”
The farmer argued there was no choice but to clear the land as the state had failed to set up an access route to his property, or boundaries between his farm and the reserve.
In television and radio interviews, La Regina said that he was forced into action because “the state was absent for over 10 years,” ignoring his petition for a road to be opened up and new clarification over the boundaries of the terrain he manages and the nature reserve.
He killed more than a hundred penguin chicks and at least 175 nests.
The Magellanic Penguin is listed as a species of "least concern" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, meaning it is not at risk of extinction even though numbers are in decline.
The original complaint was filed by the provincial government, which was then joined by the Association of Environmental Lawyers and NGOs such as Greenpeace and the Fundación Patagonia Natural.
– TIMES/AFP
