"The entire village hates him." A resident of a Sverdlovsk village was detained for the killing of a swan.

      The entire village hates him. A resident of a Sverdlovsk village was detained for the murder of a swan

      Today at 17:00, Bogdanovich police detained a man who shot and killed the beloved swan-shipun of all local residents. This was reported by Valery Gorelykh, head of the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Sverdlovsk Region.

      "An absolutely savage and brutal crime has been committed in the Middle Urals, which could not but provoke widespread public outrage and the righteous anger of local residents towards the alleged poacher, who raised his hand to shoot a divine white swan with a rifle," said Colonel Gorelykh. "The suspect has already been identified, interrogated, and there is no escape from punishment for him."

      The body of the dead shipun swan with signs of crime was discovered on the Big Kalinovka River in the village of Bayn early in the morning of July 25, Valery Gorelykh reported.

      "The deceased male, along with his mate, had chosen the village pond years ago, and ever since, they arrived each spring to delight people with their grace. The swans were practically tame because the villagers loved and fed them. This year, the pair first raised offspring, but then suddenly tragedy struck—early in the morning, while many were still asleep, the head of the swan family was ruthlessly killed.

      Learning from the internet that investigators and patrol officers were already on the trail of the 'killer,' the shooter voluntarily surrendered to the police with the weapon, the main evidence, and asked for forgiveness from his fellow villagers for his actions," Colonel Gorelykh said.

      The detained citizen, Aulov, born in 1993, has a criminal record. He is a father of three minors. During the interrogation, he claimed that he shot at cans and accidentally hit a floating bird. How much these statements correspond to reality is now being verified by the police. The small-caliber TOZ rifle used to kill the rare bird has been sent for expertise.

      A criminal case has been initiated under paragraph "v" of part 1 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation—illegal hunting of protected birds. This article provides for a maximum sentence of up to 2 years of imprisonment. Until the trial, Aulov will be under a travel ban. The investigation of this high-profile incident is personally overseen by senior police officer of Bogdanovich, Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Khrebtov.

      "In the meantime, the mother of the orphaned chicks continues to swim across the waterbody, hoping to find her suddenly disappeared life partner," Valery Gorelykh added.