An armed raid interrupted a serious poaching activity in the Limena area, in the province of Padua. The soldiers of SOARDA, the Anti-Poaching and Animal Crime Operational Squadron, supported by the Carabinieri Forestry Group of Padua and the Cites Unit of Venice, surprised a 76-year-old hunter resident in Villafranca Padovana during an illegal hunt. The man had already killed 2 pipits, small birds that are among the species particularly protected by law.
The operation made it possible to ascertain that the man was using a rifle altered with a silencer and used 21 prohibited electro-acoustic decoys, complete with remote control to attract birdlife. The hunter found himself in total violation of the provisions of the judicial authority, being completely without a license to carry weapons and already being the recipient of a formal ban on the possession of weapons and ammunition throughout the national territory.
The house search and the discovery of the small arsenal
But it was the subsequent search carried out in the suspect’s home in Villafranca Padovana that further aggravated the situation. It has in fact brought to light a real clandestine deposit for the modification of weapons and the conservation of the killed fauna. Inside the house the military seized 3 rifles, one of which was never reported and two compressed air rifles, over 3200 cartridges of different calibers, more than a kilo of gunpowder and 3 precision scales. There were also technical tools for reloading ammunition and 14 sticks sprinkled with mistletoe for trapping.
The worst scenario, however, emerged during the inspection of the home appliances, where the Carabinieri found 455 specimens of protected migratory avifauna vacuum-packed and frozen. Specifically, the inspection report counted 235 pipits and 10 thrushes already plucked and ready for consumption, to which were added another 207 pipits and 3 wagtails still with their plumage intact, testifying to continuous poaching activity over time.
@Carabinieri
The contested crimes and the provisions of the Court of Padua
The man’s flagrant arrest was triggered by very serious charges ranging from the illegal possession of weapons and ammunition to the possession of unregistered weapons of dubious origin. The man is also accused of hunting with weapons modified to increase his offensive capacity, hunting theft to the detriment of the State, the use of decoys prohibited by law and the killing of particularly protected wildlife species. Brought to trial before the Court of Padua, the man saw his detention validated by the judge, who ordered the precautionary measure of house arrest against him.
