A combined operation of the Nature and Parks Authority, the Border Police and the Northern District Police against illegal hunting, raided a home in the Arab village of Tur’an near Nazareth, and discovered the carcass of a porcupine, hunting dogs and a snake that was held without a permit.
The Tur’an homeowner, in his 30s, was taken to an interrogation by the Nature and Parks Authority.
The Border Police and the Nature and Parks Authority this week signed a joint operations agreement to fight crime in the areas of mutual interest to both organizations.
Relying on gathered intelligence, the combined forces searched the home in Tur’an, and found the porcupine carcass. The animal had been hunted without a permit. Two dogs alleged to have been used for hunting were found on the premises. Both animals showed obvious signs of being treated shabbily. The force also rescued a black serpent that was being held without a permit from the Nature and Parks Authority.
Cages were found on the premises, which were empty but were probably used to house captured animals. Bags containing animal meat were found in a refrigerator on the premises, apparently hunted by the suspect.
Liad Ling, who is in charge of investigations and intelligence at the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, noted that “our cooperation with the Israel Police and the Border Police is very important for the preservation of wildlife, and this case proves just how fruitful this cooperation is.”
“Unfortunately, the biggest enemy of the porcupine—the largest rodent in Israel—is man,” said Ling, adding that illegal hunting puts Israel’s porcupine population in danger of extinction.