This Monday the sentencing hearing, the last one of the trial for the known as **penguin massacre in Punta Tombo**, was held. The Court had already declared rancher Ricardo La Regina guilty, and now the penalty will be known this week.
The General Prosecutor of Rawson, **Florencia Gómez**, requested a **four-year prison sentence** while the plaintiff, represented by **Eduardo Hualpa**, asked for the same sentence and costs for the consummated damage. On the other hand, the **Defense requested the minimum penalty**: one year of probation. They argued that there should be no compensation in the sentence since the accused, at the beginning of the process, **offered land that was rejected**.
**Penguin Massacre in Punta Tombo: when will the penalty be known**
According to the **Public Prosecutor’s Office**, the penalty will be resolved within the legal term established for issuing a sentence, which is five business days. It will not be done publicly in a hearing, but **in writing and electronically** to the parties.
The process lasted just over a week, marked by intense days in which **more than 50 witnesses** testified before the Provincial Supreme Court.
La Regina, who had been **declared guilty the previous Monday**, is the owner of a field adjacent to the **natural reserve**. In 2021, he passed over hundreds of penguin nests with an excavator.
The Tribunal, presided over by MarÃa Laura Martini with Carlos Richeri and Eve Ponce as members, delivered the verdict unanimously.
**Historic trial for the penguins of Punta Tombo**
In what is a historic process in environmental matters in the country, the judges held La Regina **responsible** for two acts, although he was acquitted of a third.
“La Regina is considered criminally responsible for aggravated damage in conjunction with animal cruelty,” they stated during the reading.
The accused’s private defense, led by lawyer **Federico Ruffa**, had requested a declaration of **non-guilt** for all charges.
“The native vegetation that was cleared and the sediments removed from the soil caused an **alteration to the natural habitat** of the Magellanic penguin, a habitat that is protected and cannot be altered by his productive activity,” expressed the tribunal.
“This case is a milestone for environmental justice and the protection of penguins and nature. This massacre of over a hundred penguins, which sparked great indignation among the citizens, is now receiving justice,” said **MatÃas Arrigazzi**, a biologist and member of the Greenpeace Andino campaigns team.
“This event constitutes a historical precedent that, we hope, will lay the groundwork for implementing stricter policies and actions to prevent future attacks against animals and the environment,” he added.
**How was the penguin massacre in Punta Tombo**
By making a path with large machines, **140 penguin nests** – each containing approximately three penguins, in a high-density area of chicks from Magellan to the reserve – were crushed, and another hundred were electrocuted in the reserve. These actions also caused the **death of 292 chicks** and eggs of the species and the loss of 2000 square meters of native vegetation in the provincial natural reserve.
The Prosecutor’s Office explained that this happened on a field adjacent to Punta Tombo, **next to the reserve**.
The General Prosecutor of Rawson, leading the investigation, **Florencia Gómez**, ordered a raid to verify the incident in less than two hours. The team consisted of mounted police, forensics, investigators, Rawson police station, Ministry personnel, park rangers, biologists, and CENPAT members.
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