How much is hunting a deer worth to the state? This is the price a convicted hunter will pay

The Nazareth Magistrate's Court approved a settlement agreement in a civil lawsuit filed by the state against a hunter who killed a mountain gazelle. The hunter, Adham Abu Zeidan, will pay 90,000 shekels in addition to the criminal sentence already imposed on him. The state is expanding its fight against illegal hunting to the civil arena.

The Nazareth Magistrate's Court gave the force of a judgment to a settlement agreement in a civil lawsuit filed by the state against a hunter who killed a mountain gazelle. The hunter, Adham Abu Zeidan, will pay the state 90,000 shekels, in addition to the sentence imposed on him in the criminal proceeding – six months' imprisonment to be served in community service, a fine, and confiscation of the weapon. According to the statement of claim, in December 2020, Abu Zeidan went with two other people to hunt wild game while equipped with a hunting rifle, shot and killed an adult male gazelle, and then hid the carcass under a pile of stones. Israel Nature and Parks Authority inspectors located the carcass. The civil lawsuit was filed by the Northern District Attorney's Office on behalf of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. This is the second judgment in a civil lawsuit of this type; in a previous proceeding at the Haifa Magistrate's Court, a hunter who killed a female gazelle was ordered to pay 70,000 shekels. Both proceedings reflect an expansion of the state's fight against illegal hunting into the civil arena. The mountain gazelle is a protected wild animal endangered with extinction, and in 2025 the gazelle population in Israel was estimated at only about 5,500 individuals.