An Argentine farmer has been sentenced to three years in prison for animal cruelty after being convicted of killing over 100 Patagonian penguin chicks. The verdict was delivered on Wednesday, with indications that the sentence may be commuted.
The case dates back to 2021, when the farmer destroyed numerous penguin nests while clearing land near the Punta Tumbo nature reserve in Chubut province, home to one of the largest Magellanic penguin colonies on the Atlantic coast.
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The farmer, a sheep rancher, claimed he resorted to land clearing due to the government’s failure to establish proper access routes and boundaries between his property and the reserve. However, the court rejected his defense. Environmental group Greenpeace, which filed the complaint, hailed the ruling as a milestone for environmental justice.
Although the court imposed a three-year prison term, Argentine law allows alternatives to incarceration for individuals with no prior criminal record if the sentence is three years or less. Prosecutors had initially sought a four-year sentence.
Magellanic penguins, classified as a species of “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), face declining populations due to environmental challenges, despite not being at immediate risk of extinction.
