Police join wild boar shooting investigation

The police in Limburg are going to investigate the case in which a hunter shot the wild boars who were rescued from the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal in Weert on Sunday. According to the law, hunting on Sunday is not allowed. The investigation will look into the justification of bringing the hunter in to shoot the wild boars, and if this conforms to the regulations states by the Flora and Fauna law, Management and damage control and Weapons and Munition law. It will also be investigated what circumstances led to the decision to bring in the hunter, who is employed by the government, and what exactly happened on Sunday. The incident caused public outcry, as many people feel that it was a strange decision to kill the boars after they were rescued, especially seeing as there are two wildlife reserves in The Netherlands where they could have been placed. In a press release, the province of Limburg has released statements from the Province, the regional fire department and the Royal Netherlands Hunters Association. The Province statement reads that a permit for the killing of the wild boars was granted in accordance with traffic and public damage concerns. It recognizes the error of the shooting happening on a Sunday, and states that the permit does not allow a hunter to kill an animal in captivity. The Province therefore also realizes that this incident should not have happened this way on any other day either. The fire department statement reads that it recognized its job as saving humans and animals. Beyond this, however, the fire department has little authority in how a task is completed. The firemen on duty were shocked at the situation and the resulting reactions. In these two cases, delegate for the Province, Patrick van der Broeck, acknowledges that certain amendments to the regulations can be made if possible to avoid any uncertainty about the course of action in the future. The Hunters Association "admits that this has nothing to do with hunting." The hunter was employed by the government to make a judgement on whether to put the animals out of their misery.