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 a 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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