A group of Italian hunters were detained on Friday afternoon October 29 during an interagency operation in Kristiansand. All the hunters were on their way out of the country with 2027 frozen thrushes. Among the occupied thrushes, 10 song thrushes and 31 black thrushes were found and must not be hunted.
All the birds were frozen and were to be exported
Ecocrime (Økokrim) first received information from the public about the hunters and then notified the Agder Police District and the Customs Office. Agder police responded quickly and coordinated with Norwegian Environmental Protection Agency and the Customs Office in Kristiansand.
- This is a very good example of a successful interagency action. Here, everyone reacted quickly and we discovered an environmental crime and a serious smuggling attempt. It is not so often that we encounter such seizures. In the 25 years of my work in customs in Kristiansand, I don't know if we've apprehended anyone with so many illegally hunted birds before, says Customs Inspector Per Otto Smithsen.
It is legal to hunt most red-winged thrushes and a certain number of gray thrushes, provided you have the appropriate permits, of course. Only two of the three people detained on Friday have registered with the Hunter's Registry.
- 41 protected birds in Norway were revealed. There were 10 song thrushes and 31 black thrushes. All birds were frozen and were to be exported. Cooperation between customs, the Norwegian Environmental Protection Agency, Økokrim and the Agder Police District was decisive in detecting the case and resolving it quickly, says Agder Environmental Crime Coordinator Torvild Selås.
This is an illegal hunt that we take seriously
Each of the three detained foreigners was fined NOK 15. The fines were approved by all three.
"This is an illegal hunt that we take seriously and we are delighted that the public has shifted eco-crime to the hunting crew," says environmental crime lawyer and prosecutor Ole Martin Paulsen.
Information on which species can be hunted can be found on the website of the Norwegian Environment Agency:
https://www.miljodirektoratet.no/ansvarsomrader/jakt-felling-og-fangst/jakttidsveileder/?hsw=
Source: Politi
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