Porcupine predator to be jailed
10/14/2012 23:46
Man sentenced to seven months in prison for illegal possession of portions of a protected wild animal.
PASS THE PRICKLES: Three porcupines and two hedgeh Photo: Ruth Schueler
The Haifa District Court sentenced a local man to seven months in prison for
illegally possessing portions of a porcupine – a protected wild animal – the
Israel Nature and Parks Authority announced on Sunday. The man, Remi Fahmawi is
a known as a “serial porcupine hunter,” the INPA said in a
statement.
Fahmawi’s history with porcupine snatching dates as far back
as 2009, when park inspectors first caught him carrying two suspicious
sacks.
One bag was filled with hundreds of porcupine spines and the other
bore the contents of a porcupine stomach. Fahmawi was subsequently indicted for
possession of these items.
In February 2012 he was convicted of
possession of a protected wild animal and fined NIS 10,000, but received no
prison sentence. After an appeal by INPA, however, judges ordered that
the imprisonment should occur, and Fahmawi will begin serving a jail sentence in
another month, according to the INPA.
“This is a major achievement in the
struggle to preserve wildlife and in the struggle against criminals hunting and
possessing protected wildlife without a permit,” a statement from the INPA said.