63 endangered birds rescued at Nalsarovar

The Times of India , Sunday, January 17, 2016
Correspondent : Himanshu Kaushik
Ahmedabad: Common Coots, Common Pochard, Ferruginous Pochard, Garhwal, Wigeon and other endangered birds were among 63 rescued by the forest department from a boat in Nalsarovar Lake, the only Ramsar Site of Gujarat, on Friday.

Some of the Coots had been tortured by the poachers.Senior forest officials who recovered the birds said that the poachers had broken the legs of 25 coots and wings

of the remaining 38 birds were twisted and locked behind to prevent them from flying off. Forest officials said that this is the first time that they have come across such a brutal technique to prevent the birds from escaping.

"We suspect that the 63 birds were meant for sale in open market and also for local consumption," said a forest official. Sources said that the birds were to be sold in the open market and to villagers in nearby Ranagadh. The officials said that the tortured Coots with broken legs and wings have been sent to Jivdaya for treatment.

Deputy conservator of forest, Nalsarovar, R G Prajapati, said: "On Wednesday we spotted a boat with birds and our staff chased after it. The boatman abandoned the vessel and and escaped through marshy parts of the lake. The team found 63 birds of which there were 25 coots whose legs were broken," said Prajapati.He added that acting on a tipoff a team of forest officers raided the residence of the suspect and his relatives in Bagodara but he is not traceable.

In December 2013 a major poaching incident from MaliyaMiyana in Rajkot district was busted. Investigations had revealed that meat of endangered birds was sold to big hotels and was transported to hotels in Ahmedabad.

Prajapati said that this month the department has recovered 532 nets which was about 82 nets more than what was seized in December. As a part of Operation the department since November has recovered 1382 nets and has freeds birds in thousands.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/63-endangered-birds-rescued-at-Nalsarovar/articleshow/50610657.cms
 


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