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17th Dec 2016

Vet who gained fame for posing with dead lions dies whilst hunting

Nooruddean Choudry

There will be mixed feelings about this.

A vet who gained notoriety for sharing photos of himself posing with dead animals he had hunted in the wild has died, whilst on a hunting expedition.

Luciano Ponzetto was always unashamed and bullish about his controversial pastime, and indeed received numerous death threats for his posed photos with newly killed lions, antelopes and leopards amongst other animals.

Image result for Ponzetto

But the 55-year-old met his end whilst hunting wild birds in Italy. He died after slipping on ice and falling 100-feet into a ravine in the Colle delle Oche area near the northern city of Turin.

An Italian police spokesman told reporters:

“We were called by the mountain rescue services who had been alerted to the incident by someone who was out with him.

“[Ponzetto’s] body was recovered by helicopter and taken to a local hospital. It looks like he slipped and fell when he was out hunting. He died instantly and there was nothing that could be done.”

 

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