NATIONAL NEWS - The carcasses of bushbuck and porcupines, together with a shotgun, a pistol and ammunition, were found in the possession of three men and a fourth driving a Toyota Fortuner, on a farm on the south bank of the Tugela River in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Francois Snyman of Z2 Security said that following a tip-off by a farmer, the Fortuner had been followed by his security officers and spotted dropping off three armed men at Tugela Estates at about 2am.
When the Fortuner returned later to fetch the men, the hunters were met by a party consisting of Z2 Security officers, Saps from Newark police station and KwaDukuza community safety officers.
“We cornered them and found four bushbuck and two porcupines in the back of the Fortuner,” said Snyman.
“We also found a shotgun and pistol which belong
The bushbuck and porcupines found in the back of the Fortuner owned by a Groutville resident. ed to the owner of the vehicle. They were charged at Newark with illegal hunting, illegal possession of firearms – because the owner had given them to his three colleagues for hunting – and breaking lockdown regulations.”
Police confirmed that four men between the ages of 24 and 49 had been arrested and charged with poaching and trespassing. They are all residents of Thembeni in Groutville and were released on R1500 bail each.
If convicted of illegal hunting, they face confiscation of the vehicle and weapons in addition to jail sentences or fines. In a 2017 case in the Western Cape, a man convicted of illegal hunting was fined R10 000 or one-year imprisonment, plus a two-year suspended jail sentence.
