Maltese ‘Poachers’ – Including Doctors, Police Officers And Bank Manager – Arrested While Hunting Geese In Romania
Five people, including four Maltese men, have been arrested by Romanian authorities in relation to poaching geese and non-compliance with firearm regulations.
The group includes Maltese doctors, police officers and a bank manager as well as one Italian man. They have been charged with illegally hunting birds near the Romanian town of Râmnicu Sărat, Romania’s Stiri de Buzau reported.
The arrest, which occured on 23rd November, saw officers from the Bureau of Weapons, Explosives and Dangerous Substances investigating the group as they hunted near Râmnicu Sărat. After confirming what they were doing, the men were apprehended, and found to be between the ages of 34 and 64 and not from Romania.
It is being reported that the men were participating in a “hunting match”.
Upon searching their vehicle, 15 large geese were discovered that had been shot without following legal procedures. The value of the damage caused by the poachers is estimated to be around €850.
The birds and van have been confiscated by authorities.
It is believed the Italian man was acting as a guide to the Maltese men, and that they had some form of hunting license – to hunt Great Grebes – but it may not have covered the birds they were hunting.
Aside from the birds, police found five hunting weapons that were being leased alongside 2,417 12 gauge cartridges, the Romanian newspaper reported.
Investigations by Romanian police continue.
An earlier version of this story had referred to the hunted birds as hawks, not geese. This error is regretted.
All images by Stiri de Buzau
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