Big game hunters in big trouble

ABU DHABI: Two men have been arrested on suspicion of killing an endangered Arabian gazelle in a nature reserve in Abu Dhabi’s Al Gharbia area.

The two – a GCC national and an Asian – were stopped when they approached Al Ghithani industrial area in a pick-up truck without a registration plate.

A search of the vehicle revealed a dead gazelle in the trunk, a rifle and some ammunition.

Col Ajeel Al Jenebi, Director of the Police Directorate in Al Gharbia, said: “The GCC national was accompanied by his seven-year-old son. He has been handed over to his family.”

It is believed that the two suspects walked along a natural reservation fence and created a gap big enough for them to enter the area. “They shot the gazelle and then slit its throat,” said the official.

The Arabian gazelle (known as “dhabi” in Arabic) is a critically endangered subspecies of antelopes native to the Arabian peninsula.