A hunter from the Orsha district faces up to six years in prison for killing a female bear

May 16, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. A resident of the Orsha district faces up to six years in prison for killing a brown bear. This was announced today at a press conference by Vladimir Shalukhin, head of the Investigative Committee Department for the Vitebsk region, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. The carcass of a young bear was found in late January by a gamekeeper of one of the forestry enterprises in the Senno district, bordering the Orsha district. The animal, listed in the Red Book of Belarus, was killed near its den. According to Vladimir Shalukhin, the investigation of this criminal case was extremely difficult, and various versions were considered. "By analyzing phone calls and using well-planned interrogation tactics, we were able to identify a hunter from the Orsha district who, during poaching, and having a license only for hunting even-toed ungulates, killed the bear," the department head said. It was established that the man deliberately used dogs to rouse the bear from hibernation and drive it out. After killing the animal, he panicked, called his friends, who helped remove the bullet and conceal the traces of the crime. Then, the perpetrator, who had a reputation as a good hunter, posed as an active assistant to the forestry enterprise and the investigation. Evidence of the hunter's guilt is available. He has already compensated for the damage caused, amounting to about Br10 million. In accordance with Part 4 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code "Illegal Hunting," he faces a penalty of imprisonment for up to six years. In 2011, the Vitebsk Regional Inspectorate for Fauna and Flora identified over 2.5 thousand poachers who violated hunting and fishing rules and illegally logged forests. The total damage to nature from their illegal actions exceeded Br2.3 billion. 142 criminal cases were initiated against poachers. As reported by the Vitebsk Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, according to the results of last year's surveys in the Vitebsk region, the population of the main species of game animals was: elk - 7908 individuals, deer - 1138, wild boar - 17581, roe deer - 12861 individuals. The population of undesirable species was: wolf - 203 individuals, fox - 6673, and raccoon dog - 5297 individuals. The Red Book of Belarus includes: badger - 851 individuals, bear - 107, and lynx - 330 individuals. -0-