Police Arrest Two Vietnamese People on Suspicion of Hunting Heron with Slingshot

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:07 JST, December 12, 2023

SAITAMA — Police have arrested two Vietnamese men on suspicion of violating a law that protects wild animals, as they allegedly used a slingshot to hunt a grey heron on a riverbank in Saitama Prefecture.

Police sent the two suspects to public prosecutors on Tuesday.

Police said that the two men admitted to the charge and told police that they took the bird home and ate it. They also told police that it was fun to shoot the bird.

The two suspects are both 25-year-olds. One works for a manufacturer and resides in Misato in the prefecture. The other is a construction worker who resides in Noda, Chiba Prefecture.

According to police, the two suspects caught a grey heron with a slingshot at about 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 3 at a riverbank in Misato.

In August, a resident reported to the police that someone was hunting wild birds with a slingshot, and police patrolled the area.