Spanish police catch songbird poachers

Police in Catalonia have broken up a gang of poachers believed to have captured 10,000 protected finches in two years, amassing an estimated €150,000 (£136,000) by illegally selling the animals as caged songbirds.

Officers found 260 of the birds in a raid in Sabadell, near Barcelona, at the home of an individual with a previous conviction for wildlife crime. Spain granted permits for the capture of wild finches until it was ruled illegal in 2018.