Aci Catena: he was carrying in the trunk of his car a cage where 35 goldfinches, a protected species whose capture is illegal, had been locked up. A 52-year-old was reported.

The Carabinieri of the Aci Catena Station reported a 42 year old man from Catania for “Capture of specimens of protected wild animal species” and “illegal possession of objects capable of causing offence”.

During a territorial control service, aimed at preventing and combating widespread illegality in the municipality of Aci Catena, the patrol of the local station came across a Fiat Panda driven by a 52-year-old already known for previous judicial matters, who was travelling along Via Vittorio Emanuele.

The military personnel of the Arma, having noticed that the small car had its wheels dirty with fresh mud and having already reported the driver on another occasion, because passionate about hunting protected animal species, in particular “goldfinches”, they decided to check it out.
The investigations were then carried out on both the driver, who was wearing soil-stained clothing, and the car. From the very beginning, the 52-year-old appeared very agitated, and this further alarmed the Carabinieri, who therefore decided to carry out a thorough inspection of the passenger compartment and the luggage compartment.

It was during these activities that the military personnel recovered, in the trunk, a cage in which 35 goldfinches had been locked up, protected species whose capture is strictly prohibited by law, based on the regulations that protect wildlife.
Despite the circumstantial evidence left no room for any justification whatsoever, the man denied that those birds were his, but this only made the military more suspicious and, at that point, they decided to search his house in Acireale as well.

The intuition was rewarded because, in the veranda of the 52-year-old's kitchen, the Carabinieri found 3 more cages with 15 more carduelis carduelis inside, that is, wild goldfinches.
All birds, after being subjected to veterinary visit by the ASP of Catania staff, who verified both their breed and their good health, they were then released.
The intervention of the military has therefore contributed to countering the phenomenon of the black market of protected bird species.