Costa Rica’s highest court has ruled that government agencies and the national electricity utility failed to adequately protect wildlife from electrocution caused by power lines. The case centers on the Nosara region in northwestern Costa Rica, but conservationists say the landmark ruling could strengthen wildlife protections across the country. The lawsuit was filed with the Constitutional Court by the law firm Alta Legal on behalf of a coalition of NGOs that argued that local electricity infrastructure was not adequately secured, as required by law. “Bare electrical wiring is a widespread problem in Costa Rica especially affecting rural areas,” Francisco Sánchez Murillo, a Costa Rican veterinarian who provided information for the case, told Mongabay in an email. He cited exposed wires, poor infrastructure maintenance and inadequate insulation for cables and transformers as key hazards. “In Nosara, the issue has been especially visible due to the constant wildlife electrocutions in the area,” Murillo said. Such electrocutions primarily harm tree-dwelling species like sloths and monkeys, and the recent court case largely focused on howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata). According to Elena Kukovica with the International Animal Rescue Center, one of the NGOs involved in the lawsuit, howler monkey mothers are frequently electrocuted on power lines. “That means you get a child that’s with her that becomes orphaned or dies as well,” Kukovica told Mongabay in a video call. She added that male troop leaders are also frequently killed. “And what happens is in the hierarchy of howler monkeys, the next leading male, then, to…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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