NARVIK, Norway, Oct. 19 (UPI) — A pair of Norwegian hunters shot and killed two moose before they realized they were shooting through the fence of a zoo, officials said.
Officials with the Polar Park Zoo in the town of Narvik said the hunters called the zoo’s office to explain they had been out hunting when their moose-tracking dogs entered the facility’s moose enclosure and started chasing the two animals.
The hunters said they shot and killed the two moose, known as elk in Norway, before realizing they were shooting through a fence and had felled two zoo animals.
“I reacted with disbelief, and the first few seconds afterwards were pretty unreal,” Heinz Strathmann, the chief executive of Polar Park zoo, told The Local. “I think this is very sad, and it’s not OK. We had five elks, now we have only three.”
Strathmann said the zoo intends to seek compensation for the slain two slain moose.
Arne Nysted, chairman of the wildlife tribunal in Troms County, said the body does not intend to seek punishment against the hunters, as the incident appears to have been an accident.
However, Katrine Grimnes of the Malselv police said no decisions will be made regarding potential prosecution until the hunters have been interviewed.
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