«Hunt for the Hunt»

Hunting wild animals is one of the oldest human activities. However, while in past millennia and centuries it was a necessary activity for obtaining food, in our time it is merely a thrilling leisure activity and hobby, as there is no longer a need to obtain food in this way.

Since the number of wild animals has significantly decreased over the past centuries, regulatory legal frameworks for their extermination, i.e., their hunting rules, have been established in almost all countries where these animals inhabit.

Such rules also exist in our republic. However, unfortunately, there are also "hunters" who violate these rules, either due to their "natural lawlessness" or the same natural greed, in order to avoid paying the established fees and other payments for the right to hunt.

Over the 7 months of the current year, 10 crimes under Article 282 (illegal hunting) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus have been registered in the region, 15 individuals involved in it have been identified, and 9 of them have already been brought to criminal responsibility. It is characteristic that 11 individuals involved in illegal hunting are citizens over 30 years old, i.e., people who are respectable in age but not in behavior. The total damage caused to nature by these "hunters," or more accurately, poachers, has exceeded 84 thousand Belarusian rubles.

State environmental protection inspectorates, forestry authorities, and internal affairs bodies are engaged in identifying and exposing such poachers.

Investigators of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus investigate criminal cases of illegal hunting. However, there are exceptions when individual representatives of the country's law enforcement system participate in illegal hunting.

In August of this year, the investigative department of the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus completed the investigation of a criminal case accusing three poachers of illegally hunting a moose. The state security agency was entrusted with the investigation of this criminal case by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus because the "ideological inspirer" and actual organizer of this hunt was an employee

Local law enforcement agencies were unable to identify the perpetrators while the trail was still hot, and the investigation was suspended. Only the aforementioned state security agency managed to identify and expose the culprits.

The Prosecutor of the Vitebsk region has sent a criminal case against three citizens, accused of illegal hunting under Part 4 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, to court for substantive consideration. Now their greedy "hunt for hunting" will be evaluated by the court.

Senior Assistant Prosecutor of the Vitebsk Region for Supervision of Legislation Enforcement on State Security V.N. Belous