Rajnagar DFO PK Behera informed that he has alerted all his range officials and the senior officials to remain alert on possible poaching in and around the Bhitarkanika National Park during the celebration of the New Year’s Day. He also directed the Paradip ACF to inquire into the matter of bird poaching near Paradip oil refinery, after it aired in a private TV channel. However, not a single bird poaching report has come to his notice.
With the approaching of the New Year’s Day, the bird poachers become active in the Park area to trap and kill the feathered guests in order to earn a fast buck from the tourists to meet the demand of flesh on the Day.
The worrying factor for the ornithologists and wildlife experts is that 22 species of wild ducks and geese were noticed in the Park area earlier, but now the number of species has drastically reduced to 14 due to poaching. The species that no longer frequent in the Park are common shell duck, pink-footed geese, white-headed stiff tail, tufted duck and many others. The bird lovers alleged that in this winter, bird species like gret hornbills, bill, mynahs, munias and house ringed parakeets are being poached and sold in the markets near the Paradip oil refinery.
Poachers trap birds by spreading nets with bird feed laced with drugs on the paddy fields near the Park area. They poachers also shoot down these either in early morning or at night. Later, they kill the birds and sell it to different hotels and bungalows or at Paradeep, Mahakalpada, Rajnagar and Rajakanika markets, said a bird poacher of Gupti area with condition of anonymity.
According to the locals, each foreign bird costs Rs 100 to Rs 175, whereas a residential bird costs Rs 60 to Rs 100. Due to poverty, they kill birds in order to earn their bread and butter.
The poachers have evolved a safety way to catch the birds as they go to river inlets, creeks and nullahs to catch fish with nets. They spread fishing nets in the sanctuary at night, which serves dual purpose of catching fish as well as birds.
According to Duryodhan (name changed), a poacher in Batighar area, the price of each endangered bird in the black market varies from Rs 250 to Rs 400. According to him, he captures birds with nets in the dense forest of Bhitarkanika and sells these to the hotels at Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Paradip and Bhadrak.
Thousands of birds become food for the hunters despite tight patrolling in and around the Park, as these look for water sources in the unprotected area outside the Park, informed the forest officials.
