Authorities investigate HORRIFIC video showing Saudi hunters shooting antelope with assault rifles

A video of a person hunting down a herd of antelopes in Saudi Arabia using a machine gun has circulated widely on the web.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

15 January, 2020

Four antelope were shot down in the video [Youtube/Al-Madina Channel]

Saudi authorities have launched an investigation into a video of a hunter shooting down a herd of antelopes with an assault rifle, Saudi media reported.

Vice president of the Saudi Wildlife Authority, Hani Tetouani, said the authorities are investigating the location of the video and the type of antelope in attempt to track down the perpetrator.

Tetouani shared the investigation's launch in a comment on the video, which has circulated widely on the web. The frightening video shows a person shooting down antelopes one by one from his car using a machine gun.

The car chases four antelopes, all of which are shot down.

The vice president said the case has been referred to the Public Security department.

The Saudi Wildlife Authority was established in 1986 and responsible for the protection of wildlife in country.

The animal in the video is likely to have been the Arabian oryx - a medium-sized antelope native to the desert areas of the Arabian peninsula.

In 2011, it was the first animal to revert to vulnerable status after having been declared as endangered in 1986.

That same year, populations in the wild were estimated at over 1,000 individuals.

[Warning: Video is of a graphic nature]

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