The Portuguese public prosecutor's office opened an investigation on Monday, December 28, concerning a hunting trip in the Lisbon region during which 540 animals were slaughtered, sparking indignation in the country.
"
In the framework of this case, an investigation is opened and falls under the department of investigations and penal action of Lisbon
", told AFP a spokesperson for the prosecution.
To read also: Portugal: indignation after a hunting party qualified as "unacceptable crime"
This driven hunt for big game (deer, fallow deer, wild boar) took place about ten days ago near the town of Azambuja, about sixty kilometers north of the Portuguese capital, on the property of Torre Bela, an area exceeding 1000 hectares among the largest in Europe and surrounded by a perimeter wall.
One of the 16 Spanish participants welcomed this hunting trip in a post on the social network Facebook, quickly deleted in the face of the ire of Internet users.
Accompanied by a photograph showing dozens of dead animals lined up on the ground, it presented the following caption: "
540 animals with 16 hunters in Portugal, a record during a super beaten
".
From then on, the event sparked general indignation beyond social networks.
The Portuguese government, through Environment Minister Joao Pedro Matos Fernandes, condemned an “
act of hatred
” and an “
unacceptable environmental crime
”, opening the door to a review of the hunting law.
Political parties of all stripes have also castigated this hunt.
The animalist party PAN, which has four deputies in the Portuguese parliament, for example declared that "
killing for fun is simply inhuman
".
For their part, the hunters' associations spoke of a “
massacre
” or even of an “
extermination
” during this hunt which, according to the weekly Expresso, was organized by the specialized Spanish company Hunting Spain Portugal Monteros de La Cabra.
The property of Torre Bela argued in a statement not to be responsible for the "
illegitimate
" manner in which this beat had taken place on its land.
The Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), which had not been previously informed of this event, had already opened its own investigation last week and suspended the authorization to hunt in this property.
