What is illegal Hunting for Kri-Kri Ibex?

Illegal hunting is hunting without the game management authority and government permission. It is when a person hunts without permission, the necessary and sufficient documents, or using banned methods such as bow or rifled firearm and scope. The Kri-kri ibex is an endangered species in Greece. This happens because it was over-hunted. Whenever you want to hunt an animal, you must first apply for government and game management authority permission. You must also have the necessary equipment /shotgun and slugs/ and follow the permitted hunting methods. Hunting without permission happens a lot in Greece because of corrupted game guards. The game management authority says that most of the illegal hunting cases happen on the local base. This can be because people think they won’t get caught there or fake outfitters deceive the hunters. There are a few rules you can follow to avoid unwanted situations:
1. Be sure you are hunting in permitted for hunting specially designated areas. Until 2022 they are only 3 (three) particular areas. Sapientza island, Atalanty island, and one fenced area in Northern Greece next to a mountain monastery. Here you can see all of the respected outfitters in Greece.
https://www.whcs.gr/book-hunt
2. Make sure to request your outfitter for your daily hunting permit when you begin hunting. It should be in your name! Also, make sure you have a genuine hunting license for Greece, as that is yours. You are not permitted to hunt if you do not have these documents.

3. Never book a hunt through an outfitter that advertises this picture;

Illegal
it was an illegal bow hunt and the hunter was deceived into thinking he was hunting legally on Atalanti Island.

Be sharp, be wise, be careful!

  1. Even if your outfitter guarantees that it’s okay to hunt for “Kri Kri ibex” or “hybrids” outside of the fenced area, don’t do it. It’s against the law! Look up the hunting regulations for each designated hunting area in the government newspaper annually. Ask him to show it to you.
    5. After the hunt, it can take up to two months to receive an export document. Capra aegagrus cretica is classified as a non-trade species; therefore, an export document is required whether you are in the EU or the US.
  2. Be cautious when importing or exporting Kri Kri ibex trophies from the US, as they are protected under a different scientific name (Capra aegagrus cretica). If your ibex is not this subspecies, you may have been deceived, and your hunting trip may have been illegal or fake.
    7. Has hunting been a pastime for you? Make sure you know if you are permitted to own a kri kri ibex (Capra aegagrus cretica) or whether the trophy was smuggled into the US as a feral goat. Voluntarily notifying Fish and Wildlife of the discrepancy can save you a lot of trouble.

Fake Hunting for pure Kri-Kri Ibex

In areas outside of Greece where purebred Kri Kri ibex have never existed, fake hunting takes place. The hunting offers for countries like North Macedonia, Turkey, and a tiny island in Croatia are examples of such destinations. Even though hybrid or Kri Kri ibex does not exist in Turkey, some outfitters try to take advantage of the species’ resemblance to Kri Kri ibex by hunting other animals – small bezoar that is similar in appearance!
There are only zoo-bred hybrids in North Macedonia and Croatia. They were exported from Greece as breeding animals, not as hunting game ! * Then on the border  without the consent of the Greek authorities, the status was changed from animals for breeding to those for hunting. They have been imported as a hunting game – hybrid ibex into Macedonia! The Macedonian and Croatian governments have officially acknowledged that importing and possessing the Kri Kri ibex species (Capra aegagrus cretica)  was not legally approved in the country. This means that the only animals you have hunted in these territories are hybrid goats, in one way or another. However, the Greek authorities and the zoo owners assert that this is unacceptable, claiming that they did not know the animals would be hunted when granting the permits for their export.
A fake hunt is when the outfitters pretend to organize a pure Kri Kri ibex hunt, but you don’t kill the desired animal- pure Kri Kri ibex, but a hybrid instead. It could happen in all areas outside Greece, where the Kri Kri ibex is NOT indigenous (North Macedonia and Croatia). Shooting the hybrid in the mainland fenced area in Northern Greece is also possible.
It is a fake hunt also if the documents (daily hunting permits, harvest tax, general hunting license) are not in your name.
It’s fake hunting if you pretend that you’re hunting in open terrain but instead pursue game in a fenced region – the outfitter might convince you that the fence has crumbled, but you would still have to enter through a gate!


kri kri mainland Copy
The Gate to the "FREE" area
kri kri mainland Copy
SCI entry Greece main land
kri kri mainland Copy
The fence is visible from Google Earth
Saint area
kri kri mainland

A lot of people who aren’t real hunters pretend to be. They avoid the costly procedure of hunting by disregarding the regulations. Illegal firearms or closed hunting periods are used to kill animals. They also take animals that they did not kill. In this case, there is no sustainable use of that species.

(*Hunting program for any place in Greece are public documents and can be seen by anyone)

How to Avoid Illegal or Fake Hunting for Kri-Kri Ibex ?

Follow the rules! If you don’t know the rules, you don’t know how to avoid illegal or fake hunting. You can find the rules in the Hunting program for the current hunting season or ask your outfitter to show them to you. It would be best if you also talked to hunters that already hunted Kri Kri ibex. They may help you find out where and when you can hunt. You can check the SCI record book for more leads to official and successful outfitters. You should also always remember that ignorance of the law is not an excuse. In other words, you are responsible for knowing the hunting rules in the country where you will hunt.

Conclusion

The Kri-kri ibex is a beautiful animal that lives only in Greece. It is a European protected species. The ibex species is protected in many European countries by legal regulations. However, it is not found in all countries, so there are specific rules for hunting it in Greece. Hunting animals is a privilege in Europe. The European Union protects its animal species through several laws and regulations, which are harmonized to avoid the risk of extinction of some wild species. When hunting Kri-Kri ibex, you must follow specific rules, or you may end up with an illegal or fake hunting experience.

We aim to preserve the habitat of wild animals by following ethical standards and rules. Because this is not the case for a few of our colleagues who hunt for Kri Kri ibex in opposition to the ethical standards of organisations like Safari Club International, we hope you will make the right decision.

Examples of misleading advertising..

As we already did a fact check with an official documents, and there is no evidence for the existence of the Kri Kri Ibex outside of Greece our conclusion is:
The only «Indigenous.» Kri Kri Ibex could be found in Greece and no entries have been found in the Safari Club Record Book for «Indigenous.» Kri Kri Ibex taken in Bosnia-Hercegovina, Macedonia, and Croatia!!!  The only one «Indigenous» Kri Kri Ibex is from Greece and all of other hybrids was exported questionably legal  from the Bourazany zoo to hunting area in North Macedonia and Croatia !

misleading ad
Free range hunting on the main land ?
Illegal
Deceived into illegal hunt?
misleading ad
Kri kri ibex or hibryd?
misleading ad
Coveted Free range pure Kri Kri ibex ?
misleading ad
Pure Kri Kri ibex ?

More stories for Kri Kri ibex

nn_NONN
nn_NONN en_USEN de_DEDE es_ESES fr_FRFR ru_RURU da_DKDA hu_HUHU lvLV tr_TRTR pt_PTPT sv_SESV zh_CNZH arAR