The Volunteer Network against Poisons and SOS Poison Helpline in Spain
In 2010 the Volunteer Network against Poisons and the SOS Poison Free Telephone Helpline was given a significant boost with the help from EAZA through the European Carnivore Campaign and the EU through the LIFE+ Project “Action for the fight against the illegal use of poison in Spain”.
The Volunteer Network against Poisons
The network is currently made up of 36 volunteers that are distributed across Spain. At the present time, a large part of the country is covered with volunteers based at 18 provinces in 11 of the 17 self-governing regions. The aim is to have volunteers in all the provinces. When becoming part of the Volunteer Network against Poisons the volunteers are provided with civil liability insurance and are given a card that accredits them as a Network volunteer. On the back of the card, the volunteers can refer to the protocol they should follow when finding an animal and/or bait they suspect has been poisoned. In the last twelve months different activities have taken place to develop the Volunteer Network. To stimulate the contact with volunteers the SOS Poison NETWORK bulletin has been started and is distributed to all volunteers. The aim is to inform periodically about the advances of the Network and to highlight the most relevant cases and proceedings, which are taking place in the fight against poison in Spain. The bulletin is proving to be a fundamental tool for bettering the communicate ion with collaborators, to maintain the involvement of volunteers as well as increase the exchange of information among those in charge of the Network and its volunteers.
Maintenance and management of the SOS Poison Helpline
The free SOS Poison Helpline was started in Spain in 1999 and has been maintained by the BVCF – the Black Vulture Conservation Foundation. During 2010 262 calls were received from thirteen different self-governing regions. These calls generated 57 reports sent to relevant authorities, alerting them on the use of poison and/or the existence of baits and/or animals presumed to have been poisoned. A total of 82 animals have been affected – see graph below showing the affected species. The most significant poison usage reported to the SOS Poison helpline was found at the locations in graph 2 below showing typology.
With the aim of increasing the efficiency of the Helpline, work has been done on identifying and updating key contacts in the administrations to mobilise the relevant authorities in cases of poisoning. As a result, an updated, efficient, operative database is becoming available. There is also an increase in the number of calls from people who are well-informed about the problems. For example calls from members of SEO/BirdLife indicate that the distribution of the helpline number to NGOs is giving positive results. Calls have also been received from environmental agencies and members linked to the local administration.
