Between May 4 and 6, 2022 Hunters Association of Slovenia organized an additional three-day training for prevention and successful persecution of illegal killing of wild animals for police officers.
On the first day, the participants gained an in-depth insight into the protection issues of large carnivores and certain species of game, which was presented by dr. Ivan Kos, and the potential use of genetic methods to investigate illegal killing by dr. Tomaž Skrbinšek, both from the Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana. They were also briefed on the LIFE Lynx project and gained knowledge about the project activities. Police officer Jože Grajš from the Cerknica police station presented a practical example of detecting wolf poaching, and, in conclusion, the Supreme State Prosecutor Mag. Jože Kozina presented some examples of illegal killing in Slovenia and the problems they face in detecting such crimes.
The next day, first Mag. Uršula Belaj from the Ministry of Interior presented the legislation frame of illegal killing and illegal handling of protected animals and plants in Slovenia, and in the afternoon the listeners listened to the president of HAS, mag. Lado Bradač, who presented the organization of Slovenian hunting. Later, Matija Janc, president of the HAS shooting commission, presented hunting weapons, calibers, missiles and ballistics, and the day ended with a lecture on blood tracking and its potential use in detecting illegal killing, presented by Marko Mali, a former member of the commission for hunting cynology at HAS.
On the last day of the training, the day began with a lecture by dr. Diana Žele Vengušt from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, who informed the paricipants about the pathomorphological examination of the carcass of a wild animal with suspicion of illegal killing, followed by a lecture by Robert Praček from the National Forensic Laboratory on the approach to a carcass that is suspected to be a result of an illegal killing. The day ended with work in the field, where the participants were trained how to correctly approach the found animal carcass, which is suspected to be a result of an illegal killing, and determine the optimal course of information and action from the notification of the finding of the carcass to the pathological examination.
The Hunters Association of Slovenia and other project partners have zero tolerance for poaching, so we wish to haves more such trainings in the future and raise awareness of the importance of detecting illegal killing.
Training participants. Photo: Tilen Hvala
Approach to a found carcass, suspected to be the result of an illegal killing. Photo: Tilen Hvala