Photo: Roger Brendhagen
In 2017, the Danish Environmental Protection Association reported the killing of a sea eagle in Fyresdal in Telemark. The hunter claimed that the murder happened in an emergency, but the NMF referred to, among other things, The Natural Diversity Act, and the rules and training that exist for hunters.
"The Norwegian Environment Protection Association (NMF) hereby reports NN, a hunter, for breaching the provisions of the Natural Diversity Act, herewith the principle set out in § 9 and that an investigation be initiated and that the person concerned be prosecuted pursuant to § 75 of the same law. Furthermore, the NMF demands that § 240 b of the Criminal Code be assessed as having been used for negligently shooting and killing one specimen of a protected species, the sea eagle." - said the report from NMF.
It is positive to hear that the case is going to court and that the police's work has led so far, says leader Kurt Oddekalv of the Norwegian Environmental Protection Association.
Quote from the Norwegian Environment Agency:
The sea eagle is the fourth largest eagle in the world, and Northern Europe's largest bird of prey
There are now between 4,000 and 6,000 sea eagles in Norway. The young bird has a black and brown tail with some light in it, and a black bill. The adult birds have a white tail and yellow bill. Both sexes have the same appearance. The sea eagle is between 87 and 100 cm long. Adult females can have a wingspan of up to 240 cm - males are somewhat smaller. The species builds large nests of twigs and branches and often uses the same nest for several years. The eggs are laid between the end of March and May. The sea eagle nests along the entire coast of Norway, but is most widespread in northern Norway. The sea eagle was completely protected in 1968. Lives on fish and seabirds, but also takes carrion. Bodø and the Steigen area are home to Norway's densest population of sea eagles. Bodø has been chosen as Norway's sea eagle city.
The hunter broke the principle of the Natural Diversity Act
It emerged from the case when NMF reported that the hunter was not sure what type of bird was allegedly about to attack his livestock. Through the training they receive, hunters must be able to distinguish birds of prey from one another, which probably has not been the case in this case. It is important for the sake of preventive matters that in this case there is a verdict in favor of endangered species such as sea eagles, says case manager Jan-Hugo Holten.
Today, sea eagles are threatened by, among other things, of wind turbines where on the coast there have been several sea eagles that have been cut in two by the turbine tips. The fact that the case has been reported under Section 240 b of the Criminal Code on serious environmental crime says something about the seriousness of the case and that we expect a serious assessment of our report and that this is reflected in the sentencing, concludes Holten.
Section 240 of the Criminal Code states the following;
Anyone who intentionally or grossly negligently reduces a natural population of protected organisms that are threatened with extinction nationally or internationally is punished with imprisonment of up to 6 years.
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