Inspectors of the hunting supervision operative group of Primorsky Krai have detained an offender in Dalnegorsky Region whose victims were two swans. One of them died and veterinarians are fighting for the life of the second one at the moment. The materials for the initiation of a criminal case have been transferred to the police.
On the morning of October 24, 2014 near the village of Rudnaya Pristan in Dalnegorsky Region (Primorye) the inspectors of the Regional State Budget Institution "Directorate for the Protection of Wildlife and PAs" operative group arrested a resident of Dalnegorsk. Mr. L had a waterfowl hunt license, but he chose the wrong bird. As a result, one swan fledgling was killed, the second one injured. The injured bird was caught and transfered to veterinarians. Swans who have a stopover in Primorsky Krai are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, which means that hunting them is prohibited.
"Killing swans, or other animals listed in the Red Book is a thankless job. Article 258 of the Criminal Code provides the punishment for such hunters. It is impossible to confuse a swan with a game species, which means that the person who made the fatal shot, did it consciously, - commented Sergey Aramilev - I can assume that he was driven by the feeling of impunity, as such cases often remain out of public view. In this connection the hunting supervision service has worked perfectly, I hope that its further efforts will have an impact on crime prevention in the field of hunting. For us the main thing in the work of hunting supervision is not only identification, but also prevention of such incidents. Now it's up to the police, if they prove the guilt of the detainee, he will be punished."
The wounded bird has been provided with veterinary assistance. Now its condition is stable, but it is too early to make forecasts, the swan will have a surgery to remove foreign objects from the body. One thing is certain, if the bird survives it will have to spend the winter in captivity, since it does not have time to recover before winter.
It is worth noting that during the third quarter of 2014 the "Directorate for the protection of objects of wildlife and PAs" (24 inspectors) has drawn up 154 protocol on administrative violations; has seized 43 firearms, including 14 units with a rifled barrel, and 4 ungulates illegally captured. On the results of the 3rd quarter the Amur Tiger Center made bonus payments to inspectors for their diligent work.