Donald Trump Jr. accused of killing rare, protected bird on trip to Italy

globalnews.ca:

Donald Trump Jr. is being accused of breaking Italian and European Union environmental protection laws for illegally hunting rare ducks near Venice, Italy in December 2024, according to two Italian Green party lawmakers.

Andrea Zanoni, a member of the Veneto regional assembly, and Luana Zanella, a national parliamentarian, have filed two separate parliamentary questions urging regional and national authorities to take action against the alleged offence.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Zanoni said he had seen footage of Trump, the eldest son of U.S. President Donald Trump, hunting in a Natura 2000 EU conservation zone in the Venice lagoon, standing near a dead ruddy shelduck, which is a protected species.

“The video shows Trump Jr. with a ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) in the foreground, a duck that is very rare in all of Europe and protected by the EU Birds Directive and by the Italian law on the protection of wild fauna. The killing or holding of this animal is punishable by law and therefore according to Italian law it constitutes a precise crime of the judiciary’s competence,” Zanoni said.

“Trump Jr. knew he couldn’t hunt in Italy. Only residents of one of the Italian regions can hunt in Italy because you need to have a hunting card, which is issued by law by the region of residence of the applicant.

“I have submitted an interrogation for the Region to report on what sanctions it intends to impose, such as suspending or revoking the authorization towards the Venatoria wildlife company and those responsible for acts in violation of Italian and European standards.”

Zanoni said he saw Trump, 48, holding the rare duck in the marshlands near Venice in a now-deleted six-minute video from Field Ethos, an outdoor