Police seek phone data after protected vulture was shot

Police have asked prosecutors to approve an analysis of mobile-phone connections after a strictly protected cinereous vulture was shot in the Großarltal valley, ORF reported. The analysis could show which phones were connected to nearby mobile towers at the time of the shooting.

The prosecutor’s office must decide whether to allow the analysis, which raises privacy concerns and questions about whether its cost and effort are justified. The bird’s body has not been found. Police investigations are reportedly focusing on people with access to the hunting area.

The vulture was carrying a transmitter, which established when and where it was shot. The person responsible then threw the transmitter into the Salzach river. Johannes Hohenegger of the bird conservation organisation BirdLife said the bird’s movements, position and temperature could still be traced.

Hohenegger said investigators believe the shooter either reacted quickly or had anticipated shooting a bird and knew how to act. The bird was recovered within minutes, he said, and the person left immediately by car. Experts said there had apparently been interest in trophies from protected animals, which are sometimes seen in places where information does not get out.