Costa Rica Court Orders Fix for Monkey Electrocutions
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📰 The quick summary: Costa Rica’s constitutional court has ordered the state electricity company to insulate power lines in Nosara, a ruling that could protect howler monkeys and other wildlife from deadly electrocutions nationwide.
📈 One key stat: Electric shocks killed 6,262 animals in a single year in Costa Rica, making electrocution one of the biggest causes of wildlife death in the country.
💬 One key quote: “Although this case was built on data from the Nosara area, the problem is nationwide,” said Gavin Bruce, chief executive of International Animal Rescue.
1️⃣ The big picture: Howler monkeys and other wildlife in Costa Rica regularly use power lines as pathways through increasingly fragmented forests, mistaking bare electrical cables for tree branches and vines. Electric shocks killed 6,262 animals in just one year in the country, with howler monkeys accounting for up to 90% of electrocution incidents at some rescue centres. In January 2026, Costa Rica’s constitutional court ruled that the state electricity company and the Ministry of Environment and Energy had failed to put effective measures in place to prevent wildlife electrocutions on uninsulated power lines in the Nosara district. The ruling followed a campaign by 20 conservation organisations and a court action launched by International Animal Rescue Costa Rica. Experts warn that the problem extends well beyond Costa Rica, with primate electrocutions recorded across tropical forests in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: For the first time, a constitutional court has formally held Costa Rica’s electricity authorities accountable for wildlife electrocutions, giving them six months to fix uninsulated power lines in Nosara. Conservation groups now plan to use the ruling as a springboard to push for nationwide protections, which could dramatically reduce one of the leading causes of wildlife death in the country. Proven solutions already exist, including insulated cables, pole-top barriers, and artificial canopy bridges, meaning the fixes are technically straightforward once authorities commit to acting. The ruling sets a powerful legal precedent that other countries facing the same problem could look to when pressing their own governments and utilities for action.
3️⃣ What’s next: ICE and MINAE are expected to submit a three-year plan of action by the end of June 2026. Conservation groups will monitor whether the ruling is properly implemented in Nosara and then work to scale the protections across all of Costa Rica. International Animal Rescue is also exploring how the legal strategy could be applied in other countries where primate electrocutions remain a serious threat.
Read the full story here: The Guardian – ‘To them a power line is a line of trees’: Costa Rica moves to protect howler monkeys from electrocution
