The man is said to have posted about 200 ads about animals and animal parts of endangered species on Facebook. Among other things, he will try to sell bear skulls, wolf skins and eagle feathers. Today, the trial will begin at Alingsås District Court.
Environmental prosecutor Christer Jarlås says that the case is one of the largest of its kind.
– It is clearly one of the largest in terms of sales in this way. There is nothing bigger, he says.
The man, who is in his 50s and a resident of western Sweden, is said to have for several years published about 200 ads on Facebook about everything from bear claws to skins from a python. In addition, he is said to have received a dead golden eagle mailed to him from Norway. He is now charged with a serious species protection violation and smuggling.
– These species are so endangered that they risk extinction. if you then chase them to get over their feathers, claws and other things, they may die out, says prosecutor Christer Jarlås.
In interrogation emerges that the man has a special interest in the American indigenous population, and during a house search, the police found, among other things, a plumage that is now part of the evidence against the man.
Prosecutor Christer Jarlås says that some species may not be sold at all, and others may only be sold with a permit. Something the man was missing.
– He’s just been driving.
The man denies crime. His lawyer did not want to appear for an interview, but a letter to the district court shows that the man used the animal parts in his art, and that he believes that several of the objects are not genuine and others are not correctly species-specific.
But the prosecutor thinks the evidence is good.
– We have enlisted the help of the country’s foremost experts to analyze them. We have even done DNA analyzes, he says.
Source: ICELAND NEWS