Muscat – Wildlife rangers of Environment Authority (EA) and Royal Oman Police arrested three poachers for killing gazelles in Dhofar on Wednesday.

In a statement, EA said, ‘The Environmental Control Unit in the wilayat of Shaleem and Hallaniyat Islands in Dhofar, in cooperation with Royal Oman Police, arrested three citizens in possession of a number of slaughtered wild gazelles.’

Legal procedures have been initiated against them, it added.

‘We confirm that these actions are in clear violation of the Law on Nature Reserves and Wildlife Conservation, and the act is punishable by imprisonment and a fine for anyone who causes disruption in nature conservation areas,’ EA also tweeted.

The authority added that violation of the law is unacceptable. ‘We call on all visitors to these areas to report any violation on the hotline 80071999.’

According to Royal Decree No 6/2003 on the Law on Nature Reserves and Wildlife Conservation, anyone who intentionally kills, hunts or smuggles any animal or bird, including Arabian Oryx, Arabian leopard, Arabian tahr, reem or sand gazelle, Nubian ibex, striped hyena, Arabian gazelle, houbara bustard and caracal, or their genetic material, will be imprisoned for a period not less then six months and not exceeding five years and fined not less then RO1,000 and not more than RO5,000 or any one of the two penalties.