Tree Cutting More Popular Than Football Watching in Latvia — Experts Concerned

Last year, 186 crimes against nature were registered in Latvia, proving that Latvians are as creative in destroying nature as Liepāja Metallurg fans are creative in combining swear words. 79 percent of all crimes involved unauthorized tree cutting and damage, indicating that our nation has discovered a new national sport.

For comparison — in Riga, people deal with stress through yoga classes, but the rest of Latvia apparently prefers axes. Police note that these crimes also include tax offenses and money laundering, which means that even in tree cutting, Latvians manage to complicate things beyond recognition.

The Financial Intelligence Service has concluded with scientific precision that Latvia has no significant risk of environmental crime legalization, but potential risk still exists. This is roughly like saying there are no storms in Liepāja, but the wind still blows.

International institutions warn that crimes against the environment are one of the fastest-growing types of crime worldwide. It seems that Latvia is trying to be at the forefront of Europe in this area too — at least in terms of tree cutting.