The Ghent Court of Appeal has upheld a €16,000-fine imposed by a lower court on a man for illegally possessing 40 pheasants, intended to be released for hunting.
The case dates back to 22 October 2022, when three environmental inspectors of the Flemish Region came upon a group of hunters in the Oosterzele area in East Flanders.
One of the group told the inspectors that a farmer had damaged a wooded plot near his home. In the woodland, the inspectors discovered two garden cabins, one of which housed the 40 pheasants.
The birds were untagged, which was a violation of the regulations since the pheasants are a protected species.
It was subsequently revealed that the defendant had previously been involved in illegal hunting activities.
