“Changes to the law are needed to prevent the terrible events that have been reported from being repeated.”

540 wild animals mainly deer and boar have been killed in a hunting expedition in Portugal, according to reports.

A group of 16 hunters, from the Monteros de la Cabra hunting society in Badajoz, reportedly paid as much as €8,000 ($9,745) each to hunt in the Torrebela tourist hunting zone, near Azambuja, close to the Portuguese capital Lisbon on 17 and 18 December.

The incident came to light after pictures of the slaughter were shared on social media.

‘Environmental crime’

The deputy mayor of Azambuja described the incident as a “massacre” and “environmental crime” since the killed animals were in a fenced-off area and had “nowhere to run.”

Portuguese Minister for the Environment, Joao Pedro Matos Fernandez also condemned the hunt calling it “a vile and hateful act” and ordered an immediate investigation.

He said in a statement: “The reports and news about the indiscriminate slaughter of animals… have nothing to do with hunting, understood as a practice that can contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystems”.

He added: “It is the ministry’s understanding that changes to the law are needed to prevent the terrible events that have been reported from being repeated.”

The aftermath has also prompted Portugal’s Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests to suspend the hunting permit for the Torrebela hunting zone and launch a probe on the owners of the Torre de Bela land, the organisers and the hunters.

Motive

While the motive behind the senseless slaughter is not yet clear, Portuguese media suggested the massive slaughter could be in relation to an upcoming green energy project, in which the company that owns the land wants to install a solar energy plant buts needs to get construction approval- a permit difficult to obtain if the place is inhabited by wildlife.

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