One of the first rules of hunting: always be aware of your surroundings. I mean, you never know – you could accidentally find yourself in the middle of a zoo, which is one of the last places you’d want to be caught hunting.
But that’s exactly what happened to two Norwegian hunters who, after shooting a pair of moose in northern Norway, realized they had been shooting through the fence at a zoo.
Give the men credit, though – they didn’t run away or shirk their responsibilities. They immediately called the zoo to inform them of what happened. According to The Local, a digital Norway newspaper, the men explained that their moose hounds had managed to get inside the animals’ enclosure and, after a short chase, the men failed to realize they were shooting into the zoo.
“I reacted with disbelief, and the first few seconds afterwards were pretty unreal,” said Heinz Strathmann, the chief executive of Polar Park Arctic Wildlife Center, north of the town of Narvik. “I think this is very sad, and it’s not OK. We had five moose, now we have only three.”
Officials have said they don’t feel the need to punish the men as it was simply a mistake. However, the zoo has said it plans on seeking compensation for the animals.
