PONDA: Poachers are using crude bombs and cable snares to poach wild animals in forested areas and fringe areas of wildlife sanctuaries in the state, sources said.
The killing of a dog, which hit a crude bomb recently, has blown the lid off crude poaching methods. A few days back, a wild boar was trapped in a cable wire trap in Bordem, near Bicholim.
Inaction by police against the people misusing crude bombs is one of the reasons for the spread of the menace, animal lovers stated.
Amrutlal Singh of animal rescue squad (ARS), Valpoi, said that his NGO has attended to several cases of fatal injuries or animals killed by anti-social elements.
"Poachers make crude bombs with animal fat or meat stuffed inside locally-made explosives, which explode as the animals chew them . If the animal survives the explosion, it has to live in agony. Its mouth almost blows off," Singh explained.
Poachers had recently killed a leopard with a crude bomb in Shigao, Colem. They hacked its head and legs for its teeth and nails.
The dark forests on the Goa-Karnataka border and Mahavir wildlife sanctuary at Colem is a habitat of several wild animals and poachers are active in this area.
In September a local farm owner from Shigao found two wild boars and a monitor lizard killed by some unknown poachers.
The poachers are caught on very rare occasions. In June, two mouse deer were killed in Mahavir wildlife sanctury, Molem. The forest officials had arrested a poacher and a gun and a bike were seized from his possession.
Locals said that these are just a few examples. "The poachers are very smart, they visit the site after leaving traps or bombs overnight. By the time foresters reach the site, they shift the animals," a local said. If animals are killed in the blast, they hack only parts of it and flee from the scene.
Deputy conservator of forests (DCF) Milind Karkhanis said in one case, they had found the carcass of an animal. "But, we could not ascertain the method of killing," as its head and limbs were missing, Karkhanis said.
Locals are disappointed that the law enforcing agencies cannot even find the source of the crude bombs. "If they can trace the crude bomb suppliers, they can easily trace the accused," locals said.
