Polish man facing up to three years in prison after removing swallow’s nest

A man is to face trial for removing a swallow’s nest and harming the newborn chicks inside. The prosecutor responsible for the case, which could result in a prison sentence of up to three years, notes that it is one of the first of its kind in Poland.

The accused, an inhabitant of Świebodzice, a small town in southwest Poland, knocked the nest, inhabited by western house martins, a type of swallow, off the corner of one of the windows of his second-floor apartment in August last year, despite it containing newly born chicks.

The incident was witnessed by a woman who handed over the chicks – one of whom had a broken leg as a result of the nest landing on concrete – to a wildlife rescue foundation, where they received veterinary care. She also notified the police.

After investigating the case, prosecutors charged and then indicted the man under an article of Poland’s animal protection law dealing with the abuse or killing of animals, an offence punishable by up to three years in prison.

“The nature conservation law states that [swallows’] nests cannot be destroyed between 1 March and 15 October,” prosecutor Marek Rusin, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP). Even outside this period, nests can only be removed from building sites or certain other specified areas if safety or sanitary reasons require it.

According to expert opinions obtained by prosecutors, at the time the incident happened, the chicks would not have been capable of living independently outside the nest.

Rusin also noted that, in addition to the regulations protecting nests, western house martins are a species protected by law. For this reason, it is prohibited to destroy their habitats and to deliberately frighten or disturb them.

He added that, while investigating the case, prosecutors could find only one previous example of a similar legal case in Poland relating to the destruction of a nest.

The western house martin is known for its use of human-made structures, often settling down nests on balconies, windowsills, and gaps in buildings.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Michael Palmer/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Agata Pyka

Agata Pyka is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland. She is a journalist and a political communication student at the University of Amsterdam. She specialises in Polish and European politics as well as investigative journalism and has previously written for Euractiv and The European Correspondent.