In March and April, the first three educational seminars were held for staff, usually the first to detect or report alleged cases of illegal killing of wild animals. The trainings were intended for the employees of the Slovenian Forest Service; foresters and professional hunters, and were implemented in coordination of Hunting Association of Slovenia in the scope of the action C.8, which is entirely dedicated to the prosecution of illegal killing of wild animals.
A total of 144 people were trained over three days in Mašun, Bled, and Kočevje, including Triglav National Park rangers and hunting inspectors.
At the beginning of the event, the participants were presented with the current developments of the translocation and capture of lynxes in the 2021/2022 season, followed by MSc. Uršula Belaj from the Ministry of the Interior, who presented the legislation in the field of illegal killing of wild animals. Jože Grajš, a police officer, afterwards gave a practical example of how to detect illegal killings. The listeners were also acquainted with the procedures on how to approach a cadaver found and suspected to be illegally killed, presented by Dr. Gorazd Vengušt and Dr. Diana Žele Vengušt from the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Ljubljana. The training was concluded by Mr. Robert Praček from the National Forensic Institute, who presented the course of action from the first notification of a cadaver suspected of illegal killing to the pathological examination.
By the end of the project, eight more such seminars will be held.
High attendance at the educational seminar in Kočevje. Photo: Tilen Hvala, LIFE Lynx
Robert Praček from the National Forensic Institute also presented the process of receiving and processing a notification about an event of illegal killing of wild animals. Photo: Tilen Hvala, LIFE Lynx
Police officer Jože Grajš presented a practical case of detecting an illegal wolf killing. Photo: Tilen Hvala, LIFE Lynx