Fox tails seized worth 40’000 francs
Turkish authorities seized 10'300 fox tails worth 40'000 francs at Istanbul Airport. The smugglers had arrived from Moscow.
10’300 fox tails in four suitcases
Turkish authorities seized 10’300 fox tails worth 40’000 francs in four suitcases that two passengers arriving from Moscow were carrying at Istanbul Airport.
According to media reports, teams from the Passenger Terminal Customs Directorate of Istanbul Airport and the Customs Directorate for Smuggling and Intelligence tracked two passengers of Uzbek and Greek nationality who had arrived from Moscow.
Smugglers attempted to bypass customs
The authorities took action when the two individuals, who brought four suitcases into the passenger hall, attempted to proceed directly to the exit without passing through customs.
In the operation, a total of 10’300 animal tails worth 44’544 dollars were seized, verifiably originating from foxes. Under Turkish law, an import licence is required to bring this type of goods into the country.
Public prosecutor launches investigation
The Istanbul public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the incident. IG Wild beim Wild documents wildlife crime worldwide.
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In the dossier Poaching and hunting crime in Switzerland we document cases, legal questions and recurring patterns. The scientific evidence is presented in the overview Studies on the Effects of Recreational Hunting.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
