CHANDIGARH: Officials of Punjab Wildlife Preservation department arrested a bird poacher in Bhootiwala area of the Harike wildlife sanctuary on Thursday and seized carcass of seven Common teal and two Northern shovelors from his possession. The birds had been poisoned.
"These birds migrate from northern continents to Harike every winter. These nine birds were killed by Saraj, from to Peer Mohammad village of Zira tehsil in Ferozepur district. He was caught red-handed, by the special squad set up to tackle poaching, with the dead birds. The accused has been booked under various sections of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and sent to judicial remand. Another boy was held by our staff near the poaching site along with Jeet, but was released later as he was found to be innocent," said M. Sudhagar, DFO (Wildlife) at Harike.
Officials had arrested two poachers, Lakhbir Singh and Sukha Singh, earlier in November for killing birds by placing pesticides on the hyacinth water weed. They were caught with four dead Common coots.
According to the WWF-India's researcher at Harike, Shahnawaz Khan, poachers use a cheap pesticide, phorodin, for the kill. Migratory birds have been poisoned at Harike since the early 1980s and are either sold in the grey market or consumed by poachers.
