Keeping Ibiza wall lizards safe from invasive snakes in a private refuge, however well meant, is against the law. The Balearic Government has opened disciplinary proceedings against a resident who kept the protected species in an enclosure on the island, and has proposed a €6,000 fine for what it considers a serious breach of biodiversity rules.
What the inspectors found
The case began on 26 April, when the Government’s environmental agents inspected a closed enclosure built to house the lizards (Podarcis pityusensis). They saw three animals, and one of the people in charge told them there were 18 in total. The Government’s species protection service later concluded that the refuge was not part of any official conservation programme. It also found that the enclosure could not reliably keep the snakes out.
The service wants the lizards moved to a place that meets the technical and legal conditions to look after them. Until then, the Government has put temporary custody measures in place to protect the animals, keep predators out and stop any further capture, handling or release. It stresses that these measures do not make the private refuge legal.
“The same rules as the Iberian lynx”
The Ibiza wall lizard is listed as vulnerable in the Balearic catalogue of threatened species, and Spanish and Balearic law restrict capturing, keeping and moving protected animals except under official control. Anna Torres, the Government’s director general for the natural environment, compared it to another protected species: “You can’t catch lynxes to keep and breed them on a private estate. With lizards it is exactly the same,” she said.
The Government says it values the public’s help in protecting the lizard and fighting the invasive snakes, which have wiped out lizard populations in parts of the island. But capturing, keeping and breeding protected animals must be done within official programmes and under the authorities’ control.
Update: the Balearic Government has since presented its plan for a network of official lizard refuges.
