Forest dept special squads rein in poaching

The team also seized dead peacocks in Tirupathur range and prevented the “Paari vettai,” - poaching of wildlife for community feast in Sivaganga district, sources said.

On Friday two accused were zeroed for hunting 17 peacocks (10 male, 7 female) near Keelaseevalpatty village, Tirupathur range jurisdiction, but one managed to escape, sources added.

“Deepavali time is always a vulnerable period for wildlife poaching across the state. A variety of species are hunted from the wild, some for bush meat such as the deer, black napped hare, jackal and birds, owls remain especially vulnerable as they are in great demand for making religious sacrifices driven by black magic, particularly in North India,” principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden Shekhar Kumar Niraj said.

To combat the above attempts of poaching and illegal trade of wildlife heightened during the festival times, TN Forest Department issued red alerts to all the forest divisions in the state and the surveillance was enhanced, the chief wildlife warden said. The alert issued by the Centre’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has also been widely circulated all over the state to the forest enforcement units to specifically protect the owls, the warden said.

The community members with sticks and sickle hunt whatever wildlife comes on their way. This year Sivaganga district forest officer Rajkumar advertised in the local TV channels warning the public and the helpline numbers were flashed so that the general public can inform about wildlife crime and this created awareness and the organisers were nabbed, Niraj added.