During the first quarter of 2015, 682 raids were conducted in hunting areas and regional specially protected natural territories (PAs) and 375 protocols on administrative offenses in the field of hunting legislation were drawn up. Measures to prevent and combat poaching are carried out by the KGBU "Directorate for the Protection of Wildlife Objects and Protected Areas" with the support of the Amur Tiger Center.
Hoofed animals also become victims of poachers. It is their number that is the fundamental factor influencing the number of Amur tigers and Amur leopards in the Far East of Russia. For three months, the inspectors seized 61 units of hunting weapons, 20 loops and 10 traps, as well as illegally mined objects of the animal world. Thus, a total of 25 individuals of roe deer, 9 individuals of red deer, 8 individuals of wild boar and 3 individuals of sika deer were seized. Four criminal cases were initiated, and five people were denied the right to hunt for one year by a decision of the courts.
“It is necessary to say that many protocols are sufficiently weighty; citizens detained with ungulates carcasses or parts of them will be punished or will be punished. For such offenses, the current legislation provides for significant penalties,” said the Director of the Directorate for the Protection of Wildlife and Protected Areas Oleg Shorskin.
For illegal extraction of objects of the animal world, the violator, in addition to the punishment determined by the court or another body, will have to reimburse the claim for damage to nature. The damage from the destruction of ungulates and large predators can range from 60 thousand to 1.1 million rubles per individual.
Conducting raids has a tremendous preventive effect. In addition to apprehending violators, who fell into the hands of the law during each second inspection, the inspectors did a great job with ordinary citizens and hunters on the prevention of infractions. At the same time, the method for evaluating raids has changed. If earlier their number and duration were on the conscience of inspectors, now, thanks to the tracking system for cars and the use of DVRs, their quantity and quality are known reliably.
According to experts, one of the main tasks of the inspectors is the suppression of poaching committed using their official position.
“In April, the Dalnerechensky District Court convicted two officers of the border troops who carried out illegal hunting in the Sredneussuriysky reserve. According to the verdict, citizens for their misconduct will have to pay 675 thousand rubles with the confiscation of weapons to state income. Surely, violators will appeal the verdict, so let's wait for the final court decision, but in my opinion the degree of their guilt is obvious,” says director of the Amur Tiger Center Sergey Aramilev.
Recall that for refusing to submit documents for the right to hunt at the request of employees of authorized bodies provides for the deprivation of the right to hunt for a period of one to two years for individuals. Officials may be fined from 25 to 40 thousand rubles with confiscation of hunting instruments.