An employee of the Central Balkan National Park received a photo from a camera trap yesterday, which captured violators with long-barreled hunting weapons near the border of the protected area with that of the State Forestry Administration (SFA) - Teteven. An alert was immediately sent to the director of the Forestry and the Regional Department of the Ministry of Interior - Teteven, and a joint operation of employees from the Park and the SFA was organized.

The team of inspectors found an all-terrain vehicle parked in the Bryazovo area on the land of Ribaritsa (Teteven municipality) within the borders of the SFA - Teteven. During the operation in the same area, two men with hunting rifles were captured, who were found not to have hunting permits under the Hunting and Game Conservation Act. The offenders found on the spot did not resist and together with the officials moved to the Ministry of Interior authorities for a search and further action.

During the search, two legally owned hunting rifles with optical sights, 18 pieces of ammunition for them, three knives, one table saw, two rangefinders, a thermal imager, a whistle-type deer decoy, a headlamp, two flashlights, one bipod, plastic bags, gloves and rope were found.

Initially, no killed animal was found in the searched vehicle and belongings, but during a subsequent patrol of the area, where the perpetrators were captured, a killed and prepared roe deer was found. An investigation was conducted by investigators on-site and the animal was handed over for additional expertise. According to Art. 43 of the Hunting and Game Protection Act, the movement of persons outside populated areas with an unholstered and assembled weapon is also considered hunting.

The Central Balkan National Park Directorate strongly condemns such poaching activities, regardless of whether they are within the park or outside it. According to the park director Georgi Krastev, in such situations the joint work with representatives of the forestry and hunting farms that border the Central Balkan, as well as with the Ministry of Interior bodies, is what guarantees good results.