In Hérault, a golden eagle died after hitting a wind turbine that was built illegally. A dramatic death since it was the only male of the massif where he lived.
Birds killed by wind turbines
This is a case that will bring grist to the mill for opponents of wind turbines… On January 16, 2023, the study group of raptors in the south of the Massif Central, found dead, at the foot of a wind turbine, a golden eagle, a protected species in France. The device is located in Bernagues, in the town of Lunas (Hérault), in a wind farm made up of seven wind turbines.
This accident raises two issues. First of all, this is not the first bird death in the region. In August 2020, a black vulture was found dead next to a wind turbine after a fatal collision. Same fate for a golden eagle in August 2017.
Wind turbines without a building permit
Beyond these serial deaths, the other problem comes from the fact that these wind turbines should not exist. While they were built in 2016, the building permit was canceled three times at the Council of State, in 2011, 2012 and 2017. It violates the Local Urban Plan, and does not take into account the presence of protected animals which risk death by collision.
To #Bernagues (commune of #Curein L’#Herault), sept #wind turbines under an obligation to #demolition under duress! https://t.co/xwZUgUdlM4 pic.twitter.com/D7iwDXyY8B
— Sites & Monuments (@SPPEF) February 27, 2021
An autopsy of the bird must be carried out but the circumstances of its death are not in doubt. According to raptor advocates, « With the disappearance of the male, the only couple, whose home range has already been fragmented by the fifty or so wind turbines of Lunas and Joncels, will therefore never reproduce again, denounce the defenders of the raptor. », reports Midi-Free. « Following the death of the animal, the wind farm, which had authorization to resume operation by order of the prefect and had been in operation since October 2022, was shut down. “, we read in the newspaper.
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