Dilip Kuner
THE Balearic Government is going all?in on stopping slithery invaders, unleashing €2.5 million and deploying over 2,600 traps to shield the islands’ delicate ecosystems.
In Palma this week, port staff received training from wildlife experts to spot illegal snake arrivals and learn how to follow the strict rules around protected species, especially the endemic pitiusa lizard.
The move is part of a heightened campaign to prevent invasive snakes entering through the archipelago’s ports.
Authorities have been running these courses island?wide – in Ibiza, Menorca and Mallorca – equipping port police to catch suspicious plant shipments, spot snakes on cargo, and know the legal windows for importing olive, carob and oak trees. Outside those windows, entry is banned unless strict biosecurity checks are met.
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Under the new measures, nurseries and garden centres must set traps between 1 April and 30 October, and environmental inspectors have been out all summer checking compliance at ports and plant outlets.
This year’s push is the most ambitious yet. The €2.5m allocation is nearly three times what was spent in the 2020?23 period. With that funding, authorities have boosted their trap count by 35% over 2024 and quadrupled it compared to five years ago. COFIB, the island wildlife recovery agency, has expanded its team to 13 specialist technicians.
On the protection front, the Government has created 18 urban reserves for the pitiusa lizard in parks and schools and plans to build four safe havens to reintroduce captive-bred lizards back into public land.
For the first time, some of the traps will remain active year-round, including on islets and small offshore rocks. In Mallorca alone, 375 traps have gone in so far to guard vulnerable natural spots.
Authorities say the ramped-up monitoring, training and trap deployment mark a new era in biological defence for these treasured islands.
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