Incredible scenes in the Hausruckviertel (Upper Austria): A witness witnessed the illegal shooting of an owl family in Pram on Sunday. An adult bird and four young birds are dead, three hunters are suspected – a temporary ban on weapons has been imposed. There was a similar case of killing a bird of prey in St. Roman near Schärding.
It was early Sunday evening when a 36-year-old man in Pram was enjoying the spring-like temperatures outside with his girlfriend of the same age. “Suddenly there was shooting. We thought maybe a hit deer should be killed. But then more shots were fired – an estimated ten,” says the man in the interview with “Krone”.
Since he is a hunter himself (member of the biological hunting association), he became curious. He decided to get to the bottom of the cause of the “shooting”. The couple then marched up a hill: “From there we saw three men shooting at something in a fruit tree.”
shotguns used
Two of the shooters allegedly used normal shotguns and the third even used a semi-automatic weapon. “It sounded like war. My girlfriend was shocked and went home.” It should have been noticed that the 36-year-old was photographing the goings-on of the trio with his mobile phone – the trio then left, but the witness claims to have recognized a local father with his two adult sons – all three are hunters.
All animals dead
When he himself looked at the fruit tree, he saw a sad face. He found an adult and three young long-eared owls – all dead. “The young birds were completely torn to pieces by the shots.” There was also a constructed rabbit carcass under the tree. “It was probably used as bait to keep the owls in that spot.”
ammunition found
The witness immediately alerted police, who documented the incident and seized four shotgun shells. A neighbor confirmed to the police that she had seen the three suspects. They would even have told her that they wanted to hunt falcons (which are also protected). On Monday, the witness found another dead long-eared owl and a shotgun shell.
Police issued a provisional ban against all three suspects on Tuesday and their weapons were temporarily seized.
second case
A long-eared owl was also shot illegally in St. Roman near Schärding. As reported, the suspicion was already clear after the bird of prey was found dead with broken wings at the edge of the forest.
“A pathological examination has now confirmed that the owl was shot from below,” emphasizes Matthias Schmidt, ornithologist at the bird protection organization BirdLife: “We are now reporting environmental crime.” The ecological hunting association in whose territory the owl was killed also wants to file a report.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
