Wildlife · Nationwide, Costa Rica

Wildlife Electrocutions in Costa Rica: Utilities Push a National Guide

In June 2026, Costa Rica's electricity distributors stepped up a national prevention guide to cut wildlife electrocutions on power lines, after utilities reported about 6,700 electrocuted animals in 2024. The guide has been legally binding since a January 2024 MINAE decree, but rescue centers say it's still applied unevenly, and a court found gaps in Nosara.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Costa Rica Rolls Out National Strategy to Stop Wildlife Electrocutions (2026-06-13)

Anyone who's spent time in Nosara, Manuel Antonio or the South Caribbean has probably seen it: a howler monkey or sloth crossing a road on a power line instead of through the trees. Too often, that ends with a bang. In June 2026, Costa Rica's electricity companies said they were stepping up a shared national guide to prevent these deaths, with insulated wires, covered transformers and rope bridges. It's real progress on paper, but it isn't new law, and rescue centers say the fix on the ground is still patchy.

What was announced in June 2026

On June 8, Teletica reported that power distributors were adopting a prevention and mitigation guide, including line shielding and aerial wildlife crossings, with the rural cooperative Coopesantos as one of the early adopters. Five days later, The Tico Times described it as a national strategy that brings environmental authorities, utilities, rescue centers and communities under one technical guide.

The legal backbone, though, dates to January 2024, when the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) published Executive Decree 44329-MINAE. That decree made the national guide on wildlife electrocution an official instrument binding on everyone who generates, transmits or distributes electricity. What changed in 2026 is the push to get every utility actually applying it.

What the guide asks power companies to do

Under the decree and its guide, utilities are expected to:

• Find electrocution hotspots and report the previous year's victims to MINAE each February.
• Prioritize areas with endangered, migratory or endemic species.
• Study new or existing lines in sensitive areas for options like burying them, rerouting them or fully insulating them.
• Insulate cables and transformers, add protective covers and anti-climbing devices on poles, trim branches near live wires and build aerial crossings.
• Coordinate with authorized rescue centers to treat, rehabilitate and release injured or orphaned animals.

Companies that fail to apply required measures can face administrative sanctions. A working group called the Grupo de Electrificación Sostenible (GES), made up of distributors, government agencies and civil society groups, coordinates the effort and updates the guide. Its members include ICE, CNFL, ESPH, JASEC and the cooperatives Coopelesca, Coopeguanacaste, Coopealfaroruiz and Coopesantos.

How big the problem is

The numbers vary by source and year, but they're all large. Eight distributors reported more than 6,700 wildlife incidents on power lines in 2024, according to MINAE figures reported by Delfino.cr. Squirrels, opossums, monkeys, kinkajous and sloths are among the most affected mammals, along with birds. Rescue centers say an electrocuted animal arrives every 3 to 5 days, and most don't survive.

Nearly all of Costa Rica's power lines run overhead, and many use bare conductors. As forests are cut for roads and new homes, especially in fast-growing beach towns, wires become the easiest way for tree-dwelling animals to cross.

What utilities and rescuers have already done

Some fixes are underway. ICE, the state utility, said in September 2025 that from 2021 to 2025 it had installed 57 km of semi-insulated cable, 177 aerial crossings, 3,007 anti-climbing devices and 227 insulated transformers, according to ICE electricity manager Verny Rojas.

Rescue groups are also paying for fixes themselves. In August 2026, the Jaguar Rescue Center and partner Ma Earth raised funds to insulate 50 transformers in the South Caribbean, with ICE doing the installation, The Tico Times reported. The Sloth Conservation Foundation funds insulation materials for partner groups and campaigns for underground lines.

Why critics say it's not a national fix yet

A coalition of about 20 rescue centers and conservation groups, led by International Animal Rescue Costa Rica in Nosara, launched the Esto NO es Pura Vida campaign in June 2025, calling for full nationwide enforcement of the decree. They argue implementation has been close to nonexistent in many places.

The courts have weighed in too. In a ruling reported on January 21, 2026, the Constitutional Court found that authorities had taken a broad set of prevention measures, but that ICE was still stringing bare cable for new projects in Nosara, creating fresh risks for howler monkeys. It gave the heads of ICE and MINAE 6 months from notification to correct it, CRHoy reported. We haven't found a public report on whether that deadline was met.

A bill called the Law for Responsible Electrification, filed by legislator Cynthia Córdoba in June 2025, would add penalties and make the measures mandatory rather than advisory; as of late 2025 it hadn't been voted on. And in September 2026, after a video showed a utility worker dropping a sloth from a pole in San Carlos, the group APREFLOFAS asked MINAE to publish updated electrocution data and enforce the existing rules.

Electrocutions are one of several ways development kills wildlife here. See our reports on making Costa Rica's roads safer for wildlife and on the wildlife crossings bill.

What you can do

If you see an injured or electrocuted animal, don't touch it or the wire. Report it to SINAC's environmental line, 1192, with the exact location, even if the animal has died, or call the nearest authorized wildlife rescue center. Our guide to wildlife rescue centers in Costa Rica explains how they treat and release injured animals, and our species conservation guide covers the sloths and monkeys most at risk. Homeowners can ask their utility to insulate lines where animals keep getting hurt and keep trees trimmed back from wires.

Frequently asked questions

Why are so many monkeys and sloths electrocuted in Costa Rica?

Most power lines are overhead and many are uninsulated. When forest is cleared, tree-dwelling animals use wires to cross gaps and touch two live parts at once or a wire and a grounded pole.

What is Decree 44329-MINAE?

It's an executive decree published in January 2024 that made Costa Rica's national guide on preventing wildlife electrocution an official instrument for all electricity companies, including hotspot mapping, insulation and annual reporting to MINAE.

How many animals are electrocuted in Costa Rica each year?

Eight electricity distributors reported more than 6,700 wildlife incidents on power lines in 2024, according to MINAE figures. Earlier official counts were in a similar range.

What should I do if I find an electrocuted animal in Costa Rica?

Don't touch the animal or any wire. Call 1192 to report it to SINAC with the exact location, or contact a nearby authorized wildlife rescue center.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Costa Rica Rolls Out National Strategy to Stop Wildlife Electrocutions (2026-06-13)
2. Teletica: Pasos aéreos y blindaje de redes: empresas buscan bajar cifras de animales electrocutados (2026-06-08)
3. Delfino.cr: País registró al menos 6700 animales electrocutados en tendidos eléctricos en 2024 (2025-06-24)
4. El Observador: Compañías eléctricas obligadas a valorar el impacto que tendrá el nuevo tendido en la fauna (2024-03-02)
5. CRHoy: Sala IV sentencia al ICE y al Minae a tomar medidas para proteger la fauna silvestre del sistema eléctrico (2026-01-21)
6. Delfino.cr: Sala IV ordena al ICE atender tendidos eléctricos con cableado desnudo en Nosara (2026-01-22)
7. Delfino.cr (Grupo ICE): ICE ha invertido en proteger fauna silvestre que interactúa con infraestructura eléctrica (2025-09-01)
8. Mongabay: Costa Rica's shocking wildlife crisis (commentary, 2025-12-17)
9. The Tico Times: wildlife electrocution transformers (2026-08-10)
10. Delfino.cr: Colegio de Biólogos y APREFLOFAS piden reforzar protección de fauna tras caso de perezoso en San Carlos (2026-09-24)
11. Esto NO es Pura Vida (campaign site)
12. The Sloth Conservation Foundation: Power Line Insulation

We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.