AN INVESTIGATION has been launched into a pine marten reported to have been illegally held captive in Gwynedd.
On October 3, officers from North Wales Police’s Rural Crime Team attended a property in Dolgellau with volunteers from The Wildlife Trusts, and seized the small animal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
It was later transferred to the Welsh Mountain Zoo, where it was placed into a quarantine enclosure as enquiries continue.
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The pine marten is protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
A North Wales Police spokesperson said: “Their population in North Wales is fragmented and small, and they are mainly found in Scotland, particularly in the Highlands, and Ireland.
“Mostly chestnut-brown in colour, the pine marten has a characteristic pale yellow 'bib' on its chin and throat, and has a long, bushy tail.”
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