Culling of Arctic fox was grossly negligent

In 2019, a man had culled a protected Arctic fox. The fox was shot while trapped in a hunting booth that the defendant had set up near his own property. The fox was white, but the defendant was convinced that he had shot an albino red fox. He knew that Arctic foxes are protected and endangered. Like the previous instances, the Supreme Court concluded that the defendant had acted grossly negligently, which meant that the conditions for conviction under section 240 subsection 2 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Act were met. It was emphasised that the fox's color and size were unusual for red foxes, and that the defendant should have carried out further investigations to verify whether it could be an Arctic fox. He had alternative courses of action, and there was a risk of trapping a highly endangered species. The fact that Arctic foxes are unusual in Rogaland was not given weight. The sentence was 60 days of imprisonment and loss of the right to hunt and catch for a period of one year.

Read the whole judgment (Norwegian only)

Area of law: Criminal law. Sections 240 and 56 subsection 1 (b)

Justices: Indreberg, Matheson, Normann, Høgetveit Berg, Steinsvik