Russia investigates helicopter hunt for rare goats

Now if you just read the title your probably thinking that this has to do with eco-nuts. Well it does in a way but there is a glitch.

From Reuters:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian prosecutors initiated a criminal investigation Tuesday into the use of helicopters to hunt endangered goats by senior officials, a case that has revealed the playtime pleasures of Russia's elite.

Seven people died in a helicopter crash in January, including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's personal envoy to parliament and a top regional wildlife protection official.

Environmentalists have said photos from the crash site, in remote mountains near the border with Kazakhstan, appeared to show the hunting party had shot endangered Argali goats -- famed for their large curly horns.

There are only about 200 Argali left in Russia and it is illegal to shoot them.

Prosecutors had already started investigating how the helicopter could crash in good weather, but had not acted on calls from environmentalists and a petition signed by 6,000 people to investigate the shooting of the Argali.

The photos and accusations of illegal hunting by Russian officials helped catapult the story into newspapers and grabbed the attention of ordinary Russians.

Not only was this under reported, I found it under "Oddly Enough" news on Reuters web site. That is a category I use for our radio show when I do the "Bizarre Stories" segment. Why would a story about Russian officials and especially one of Medvedev's cronies dieing be here? I'm going to try to see if there is anything else out there about this. But I doubt it. Ah Russia, so transparent.
Technorati Tags: Russia, Argali goats, Medvedev, poaching, news, politics, hunting