Billionaire Bouygues arrested for poaching (on his estate) after shooting cormorants and herons

ROME – The gendarmerie arrested billionaire Olivier Bouygues for poaching , detaining three other people in addition to the son of the founder of the construction, telecommunications, and media giant, and questioning a fifth. Bouygues, 74, a member of the family group's board of directors, is charged with illegally hunting protected bird species on his property in Solonge, central France. For years, he allegedly shot and killed cormorants, buzzards, and herons , which threatened the pheasants and partridges on his estate.

In early June, officers from the French Office for Biodiversity found several animal carcasses during a search of the billionaire's property in the village of Fontenaille. Investigators suspect " systematic breeding over several years " of these species, according to the prosecutor, quoted by the regional television station France 3 Centre-Val de Loire.

During the search, which Olivier Bouygues was not present at, a hunting enclosure was also found containing a large number of wild boars , at a density that could be excessive according to the regulations, making it a potentially illegal breeding ground.