Trophy hunters dump unwanted carcases

THE Guardia Civil are looking for the killers of two mouflon found in Sax.

The headless bodies of the wild sheep were dumped in the River Vinalopo and officers from the force’s Nature and Environment Protection unit are investigating whether the animals were killed by licensed hunters or poachers. 

The day before the mouflon were found dozens of wild and Barbary sheep were killed in the Sierra de Biar during an authorised cull supervised by the regional government.

It is customary for huntsmen to take heads as trophies but they are also responsible for paying to dispose of the carcases, which in this area are usually taken to Alcoy where they are used to feed a colony of vultures.

Possibly the hunter or hunters wanted to avoid this expense and now risk fines for anti-social conduct, Seprona suggested. Alternatively the mouflon – a male and a female each weighing more than 40 kilos – could have been shot by poachers. 

A first-rate head with imposing horns can fetch up to €15,000 on the black market although the consequences are more serious, Seprona said, as poaching is classed as a crime incurring a hefty fine.