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SPAIN and the law relevant to wild birds (1 Viewer)

I think generally photographing around the nest is not allowed but the caveat is that, with modern equipement, birds can be photographed at distance and therefore tolerated. Anything that might distrub the bird is a no no.

Can't think of any other restrictions at others times of the year.

I asked the national parks here and that seemed to be trhe general 'rule of thumb'.

Tape luring in national parks is an offence.
 
Bird Law in Spain

...generally photographing around the nest is not allowed but ... with modern equipement, birds can be photographed at distance and therefore tolerated. Anything that might distrub the bird is a no no.

Tape luring in national parks is an offence.

Tape luring anywhere is in theory an offence and there has been, as far as I know, no adjustments to account for 'modern equipment' so photographing in many cases is technically illegal. But the same could be said about the UK. The law is there but it very much depends upon the individual 'agent rural' (countryside police) and how your actions are interpreted.

On the whole I would suggest you'll be o.k. if you put the bird and not your photograph first (e.g. stick to footpaths in breeding season, etc.). But try not to attract attention to yourself.

I know one particular agent rural who's reached his wits end with tape lures and BIRDERS (who are supposed to be on his side he says and he has enough trouble working against society in general) walking into, e.g. Dupont's Larks' territories to flush for ticks/photos, and has decided to start prosecuting.

It might help if you mention where you're going.

Good luck
 
I also believe that if the authorities in National Parks deem that you're a professional photographer then you need a permit. It's not a law that's widely or rigorously applied although a friend was picked up on it - apparently because of his expensive gear - a few years back (for the first time after regularly visiting Spain with his camera for the last decade). However I'm sure our Spanish friends can give chapter and verse .....
Edit - I note Stephen C has now done so!
 
As a photographer and for renting hides as touristic organization, I have a special permit of the government of Extremadura. If you are interested I can send a scan of that to your personal email address...

You can also have a look at the site of legal guides in Extremadura, we have our own etical code:
http://guidextremadura.com/
But we are working on it.

hope to hear from you, henk
 
This is actually quite a sticky subject, as you might know Spain is administered through "Autonomías", territorial regions with quite a hefty amount of autonomy regarding most legal matters; fauna, flora, nature, conservation and the like, are therefore under local control, and so no general law applies. That being said, most laws, for most regions, are similar in their structure, limits and sanctions.
Legally, that is, on paper and according to an actual passed law, photography of animals is not permited in certain cases. I have been looking up, randomly, the Madrid law and the Castilla y Leon law, and both limit photograpy of endangered species, or likely to be endangered. Here is a quote from the Madrid law

3. Asimismo queda prohibida, salvo expresa autorización de la Agencia de Medio Ambiente, la observación y la caza fotográfica de especies catalogadas como en peligro de extinción o sensibles a la alteración de su hábitat, y el establecimiento a tales fines de puestos fijos a menos de doscientos cincuenta metros de sus puntos de cría, lugares de concentración migratoria o invernada.

A quick translation: Prohibition, unless a permit is given by the competent authority, of observing or photographing species catalogued as in danger of extinction or senstivie to habitat modification, therefore no material or hides may be set up closer than 250 metres from their breeding grounds, wintering areas or migratory concentration areas... sorry for the poor quality, it's a bit of an ad hoc translation)

Thats the theory, and along with it is another problem, as you might also know large areas of central and south Spain are privately owned and sealed off, huges estates, or "fincas", and legislation concerning photographing the property or "things on or over it" is shady. Some will not give a damn, while others may tell you that you have no right to be taking pictures of their land, even if you are outside the property and on the road...

However, with all this, and all the legal technicalities, in my own personal experience, and baed on the photographing outings of many birders and nature lovers I know, you will, 99% of times, have absolutley no problems, at all. Most birders, as long as they are not under the spell of some extreme twitching, have enough sense and love for the subjects they are trying to capture, that they know how to behave, and that behaviour usually keeps one safe and on the legal side. As long as one keeps to the paths, does not bother the birds, and makes sure, before setting up the gear, or the tent, or what have you, that the area is not a national park or protected area, chances are nobody will mind and nobody will tell you off (or fine you)

Here, as an example, is the Madrid law

http://www.madrid.org/wleg/servlet/Servidor?opcion=VerHtml&nmnorma=384&cdestado=P

Hope all of this heleped

Oh, out of curiosity, what region, or area, are you planning to visit?
 
Thanks for all the replies it's really helpful. Does anyone have a link to any legislation in place?

This is the national regulation, but besides this, there are also other regulations depending on the region you are:

Real Decreto 1997/1995, de 7 de diciembre, por el que se establecen medidas para contribuir a garantizar la biodiversidad mediante la conservación de los hábitats naturales y de la fauna y flora silvestres.
http://mediambient.gencat.net/Images/43_3585.pdf
BOE Nª 310 de 28/12/1995

Ley 42/2007, de 13 de diciembre, del Patrimonio Natural y de la Biodiversidad.
http://mediambient.gencat.net/binLegis/20081337.doc
BOE Nª 299 de 14/12/2007

Real Decreto 439/1990, de 30 de marzo, por el que se regula el Catálogo Nacional de Especies Amenazadas.
http://mediambient.gencat.net/cat/e...1990.jsp?ComponentID=3579&SourcePageID=3890#1
BOE núm. 82 de 5/4/1990

Ley 4/1989, de 27 de Marzo, de Conservación de los Espacios Naturales y de la Flora y Fauna Silvestres
http://mediambient.gencat.net/Images/43_3571.pdf
BOE núm. 74 de 28/3/1989
Modificada per:

Ley 41/1997, de 5 de Noviembre, sobreespacios naturales protegidos-protección de animales y plantas.
http://mediambient.gencat.net/cat/e...1997.jsp?ComponentID=3552&SourcePageID=3572#1
BOE núm. 266 de 6/11/1997

Ley 43/2003 de 21 de Noviembre de Montes
http://mediambient.gencat.net/Images/43_23349.pdf
BOE núm. 280 de 22/11/2003
 
For Castilla-La Mancha (Central Spain), other than national Ley 42/2007 already mentioned by Aleix, you have regional act 1/1999 on nature conservation

http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/CCAA/cm-l9-1999.html

It states (art. 78) that in case of endangered species while inside their sensitive areas (reproductive grounds, roosting areas,etc) recording of images or sounds requires a permit. Anyway I copy you the complete text in Spanish:

Artículo 78 Toma de imágenes o sonidos de especies amenazadas en sus áreas sensibles
El estudio o toma de imágenes o sonidos de fauna amenazada en circunstancias en que se pueda causarles molestias por practicarse sobre sus áreas más sensibles de reproducción o cría, concentración, dormideros, u otros lugares en que cause similares efectos negativos, debe ser autorizada previamente por la Consejería

You should be aware that, as a general rule, the construction and use of a hide requires a permit, purposefully taking photos on endangered species requires a permit, and profesional photography inside protected areas also requires a permit. But you may need to dig a while inside the complex Spanish legislation to find the particular rule you should abide by
 
This is actually quite a sticky subject, as you might know Spain is administered through "Autonomías", territorial regions with quite a hefty amount of autonomy regarding most legal matters; fauna, flora, nature, conservation and the like, are therefore under local control, and so no general law applies. That being said, most laws, for most regions, are similar in their structure, limits and sanctions.
Legally, that is, on paper and according to an actual passed law, photography of animals is not permited in certain cases. I have been looking up, randomly, the Madrid law and the Castilla y Leon law, and both limit photograpy of endangered species, or likely to be endangered. Here is a quote from the Madrid law

3. Asimismo queda prohibida, salvo expresa autorización de la Agencia de Medio Ambiente, la observación y la caza fotográfica de especies catalogadas como en peligro de extinción o sensibles a la alteración de su hábitat, y el establecimiento a tales fines de puestos fijos a menos de doscientos cincuenta metros de sus puntos de cría, lugares de concentración migratoria o invernada.

A quick translation: Prohibition, unless a permit is given by the competent authority, of observing or photographing species catalogued as in danger of extinction or senstivie to habitat modification, therefore no material or hides may be set up closer than 250 metres from their breeding grounds, wintering areas or migratory concentration areas... sorry for the poor quality, it's a bit of an ad hoc translation)

Thats the theory, and along with it is another problem, as you might also know large areas of central and south Spain are privately owned and sealed off, huges estates, or "fincas", and legislation concerning photographing the property or "things on or over it" is shady. Some will not give a damn, while others may tell you that you have no right to be taking pictures of their land, even if you are outside the property and on the road...

However, with all this, and all the legal technicalities, in my own personal experience, and baed on the photographing outings of many birders and nature lovers I know, you will, 99% of times, have absolutley no problems, at all. Most birders, as long as they are not under the spell of some extreme twitching, have enough sense and love for the subjects they are trying to capture, that they know how to behave, and that behaviour usually keeps one safe and on the legal side. As long as one keeps to the paths, does not bother the birds, and makes sure, before setting up the gear, or the tent, or what have you, that the area is not a national park or protected area, chances are nobody will mind and nobody will tell you off (or fine you)

Here, as an example, is the Madrid law

http://www.madrid.org/wleg/servlet/Servidor?opcion=VerHtml&nmnorma=384&cdestado=P

Hope all of this heleped

Oh, out of curiosity, what region, or area, are you planning to visit?

Thank you very much for this, a very detailed reply and sounds very much like the common sense approach!
Cheers
 
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