This Wednesday a historic trial began on the matter, for the hunting of a jaguar in Formosa. This is the first oral and public trial held for such a case, unprecedented in the country.
Four men are accused of killing and butchering a specimen (Panthera onca) in the town of Estanislao del Campo, an event that marks the first time in Argentina that this crime has reached an oral debate.
The trial involves the participation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), the National Parks Administration and several environmental organizations, including Red Yaguareté, acting as a plaintiff.
The case: the hunting of a jaguar in Formosa that went to trial
As a result of the illegal hunting, it was confirmed that they killed a jaguar, another specimen of this species declared a Natural Monument in the Province.
The jaguar is critically endangered.
“The extinction of the great American Tiger advances in Formosa: another jaguar hunted in the heart of the province,” said the organization.
In March of this year, the court summoned preliminary hearings with the Prosecutor’s Office, the plaintiff, and the defendants, for the parties to present preliminary issues before the trial and propose procedural alternatives.
The specimen had been detected on February 27 initially, and later, in April.
This was part of the survey carried out in a key corridor for conservation. It is the Patiño department, between the Ministry of Production and Environment of Formosa province and the Jaguar Project of the Atlantic Forest Research Center (CeIBA-CONICET).
Arrests and trial proceedings
According to the investigation, the episode began with the disappearance of a dairy cow, part of the livelihood of several families in the area. The owner, Máximo Cisneros (61), asked for help from Walter Hugo Ponce De León (45), Viterman Ponce De León (38), and Claudio Cisneros (30), occasional workers, to find it.
The oral trial is historic.
According to the reconstruction of the events, while the men were searching, accompanied by dogs, they found the dead cow. Near the remains, the jaguar appeared, which, according to the defendants in a dialogue with Infobae, attacked them.
Furthermore, in previous interviews, they stated that they were unaware the jaguar was a protected species. “It wasn’t a trophy, we killed it out of fear, and then we ate it,” said Ponce De León.
On July 29, 2024, the police raided Máximo Cisneros’ house in the area of Las Antolas, where he tried to flee. The other three accused surrendered on September 2. They spent nearly two months in detention until, in November, they were granted house arrest with work release.
In December 2024, the case was brought to trial with the charge of hunting of protected wildlife, aggravated by the participation of three or more persons.
According to Nicolás Lodeiro Ocampo, executive director of Red Yaguareté, this case is “the greatest achievement in nearly two decades of litigation against the illegal hunting of the species.” It is the first time an environmental NGO has been accepted as a plaintiff in a case of this nature.
The organization aims for this case to drive a reform of Law 22,421 on Wildlife Conservation, to increase penalties and strengthen the protection of threatened species.
