Five arrested for illegally abusing and hunting a porcupine

Five individuals were arrested in the Galilee for illegally hunting a porcupine, Israeli Police reported on Saturday. Border Police officers and volunteers searched their car after spotting a suspicious backpack in the back seat. The five arrestees are residents of Arraba and Rameh, Arab towns in the lower Galilee, located east of Karmiel. The car approached one of the crossings near Kibbutz Gonen, southeast of Kiryat Shemona, and a large backpack in the backseat of the car raised the suspicion of the officers.  When they searched the backpack, they found the lifeless form of a porcupine. It had signs of severe physical abuse. The search then extended to the trunk of the car, where the officers found hunting gear, as well as long sticks, attesting to the severity of the abuse suffered by the porcupine. Porcupines are a protected species under Israeli law. They are also the largest class of rodents found in Israel.They are protected even though they are not (yet) at risk of extinction.