Bird poachers arrested in Kendrapara

Odisha Channel Bureau KENDRAPARA: Forest officials have nabbed two bird poachers and made a seizure of four dead birds from their possession near Gop traffic junction near National Highway 5 (a) on the outskirts of district headquarter township. The arrested poachers, identified as Shaikh Nazir (35) and Mohammad Masum (38), are from Murshidabad in West Bengal.The duo engaged in a shop as salesman had taken to bird poaching to augment their income, said forest officials. “Four dead Indian Pond Herons and three traps were seized from them.They killed the birds by spreading traps in the nearby crop fields,” said Kendrapara forest range officer Himanshu Sekhar Muduli.Both the poachers were arrested under the Section-9 and 51 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.They were produced in the court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) in Kendrapara.The court rejected their bail applications and remanded them in jail custody.This was the first poaching case detected by forest personnel in Kendrapara and its nearby areas in this winter. Bird poachers turn active as hundreds of migratory birds have started arriving in the wetlands and paddy fields.The forest guards patrol the areas to prevent poaching during the season.We have also organised awareness camps in many villages to create awareness among the locals to protect the avian guests.Villagers promised before us to protect the birds and to prevent any poachers to kill the birds or any animals in these areas”, added the forest official.However, sources said, many poachers are active to kill or catch birds to meet the huge demand of bird meats on the Chhadakhai day on Friday as after the end of the holy month of Kartik, people take non-vegetarian foods.