Kozhikode: The wildlife study wing of the Youth Hostel Association of India’s Faroke Tile City Unit has found rampant hunting of wildlife in the Kattullamala area of the Koorachundu grama panchayat.
The hunted animals include rare wild goats, boars and rabbits besides hornbills and other extinct species, according to the local people.
Secretary of the Faroke Tile City Unit of the Youth Hostel Basheer Kalathingal said the residents of the area had told him that gun-shots were heard regularly in the Kattullamala area during nights. They said the remote woodland area was also a haven for anti-social animals and distillers of illicit liquor for a long time now. Hunting of boars was also “very common” in the area. “But people have no complaints as the beast is a menace to several of the agricultural crops.
But the uncontrolled poaching of the extinct animals was causing serious threat to the ecosystem. “Poor accessibility and the absence of proper roads make it hard for the authorities to take control of the situation,” said Mr. Basheer. “But something needs to be done immediately,” he said.
The Youth Hostels Association has demanded that the authorities nab the poachers and bring them before the law immediately so as to bridle the illegal sporting that has serious ecological implications.