Young men pay £1,000 for illegal hare

TWO YOUNG men from the Nicosia village of Tseri were in court yesterday where they pleaded guilty to charges of illegal hunting and being in possession of a dangerous weapon.

One of the men’s father was also charged for not properly concealing the weapon his son had taken without his permission.

The court heard how on October 4, 2004 the two young men, who were both 18 at the time, had decided to go hunting in Avlona even though neither of them held a hunting licence.

“One of the youngsters took his father’s hunting rifle from a cupboard in the house, picked up his friend and they drove to Avlona.

“At one point, they both spotted a hare, stopped the car and shot the hare. They then placed the dead hare in a bag and kept on driving”, said the state prosecutor.

“They were soon stopped by a Games Service officer, where they confessed to hunting without a licence and killing a hare. The police were summoned and later that evening the father, who is also the rightful owner of the weapon, was picked up and formally charged.

“All three have admitted the charges.”

Judge Lemonia Kaoutzanis said that being in possession of a weapon without the necessary documents was a very serious offence but noted the young age of the two men, adding that she hoped that they had both learned their lesson.

She then fined both youngsters £500 and £100 for the father.