site.btaEndangered Animals Seized during Police Operation in Pleven Region

Several species of globally endangered animals were discovered and seized during a specialized police operation in Pleven Region, conducted under the supervision of the District Prosecution Office, said Tsvetan Yotsov, head of the Economic Police Department in the General Directorate National Police, at a press conference on Friday. 

The press conference was also attended by Trifon Boychev from the Crime against Environment and Wildlife Unit of the Economic Police Department, as well as deputy district prosecutors in the Pleven District Prosecution Office Diana Ilieva and Ventsislav Ferdinandov.

Boychev specified that 25 endangered animals were found: six Greater flamingos, two Great White pelicans, two white swans, two common cranes, one grey parrot, one Yellow-headed Amazon parrot, as well as two frozen black storks, a taxidermied brown bear, a trophy head of a Balkan chamois, a taxidermied grey crowned crane and a taxidermied raven. He called on citizens to be more active and report if they have information about such cases.

The taxidermied animals were handed over to the Regional History Museum in Pleven, while some of the live birds were transported to the Sofia Zoo, which has a rescue centre for similar bird types.

Prosecutor Ferdinandov noted that until now no report about the possession of these animals has been received by the District Prosecution Office in Pleven. The largest number of animals were found in a property in the town of Koynare, where the animals were kept in good conditions, but the place is not registered as a zoo.

Prosecutor Ilieva pointed out that the pre-trial proceedings were initiated based on the materials received from an inspection carried out by the State Police in October 2023, when lemurs were found on the property. Lemurs are absolutely prohibited to be kept by private individuals. During the specialized operation on September 11, four properties  owned by the same person were searched in Pleven, Knezha and Koynare. The lemurs, however, were not found.

Interrogations are pending in the case. The punishments provided by law for possessing protected animal species are imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to BGN 20,000.