A 49-year-old man was sentenced to eight months in prison with probation by the Bayonne court on Tuesday for trafficking in protected birds and for laundering around 80,000 euros.
In 2020, during a search, the State services had discovered around fifty birds in a 120 m2 hangar in Sare (Pyrénées-Atlantiques): canaries for the most part, but also 15 protected species such as the nightingale from Japan, the bullfinch or the European goldfinch.
“profitable business”
Environmental protection associations, civil parties, had denounced the "
lucrative business
" of these birds, and in particular that of the European goldfinch, a songbird weighing about fifteen grams widely poached in the world.
It sells for between 150 euros and 1,000 euros under the coat, according to the League for the Protection of Birds.
The man, who "
damaged the environment
", according to the court, is also prohibited from managing a company for 5 years and will have to pay a fine of 1,450 euros.
He had disputed having marketed these birds, only recovered "
out of passion
".
Justice also estimates that 80,000 euros in cash were laundered through transfers and checks drawn up by his mother and sister.
The first was sentenced to three suspended prison sentences and the second to a suspended fine of 5,000 euros.
Two environmental associations are allocated nearly 4,500 euros for collective ecological and environmental damage.