Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Peacock poaching feared near Surat

SURAT: Feathers and remains of peacocks have been found in farms near Ranaj village of Mahuva taluka in Surat district in the last two days. Locals and nature activists fear that at least seven peacocks had been killed in these farms for their meat and feathers. The peacocks had gone missing in the last one week from mango orchards around Ranaj village.

Meanwhile, a peacock and a peahen, badly injured, were rescued from the farms. The peahen had injuries on leg, which the nature activists believe were caused by an iron wire trap. The peacock had injuries on eye, due to a 'gilol' attack, fracture in both legs and severe injury on the body due to its feathers having been pulled out, president of Friends of Animal Welfare Trust (FAWT) Jatin Rathod said. "When we visited the farms, we found small uncoloured feathers. This meant the carcasses and coloured feathers of the peacocks had been taken away by someone," he added.

"There were many peacocks and peahens in my mango orchard. I used to feed them and keep water for them daily. But they are missing since one week. In last two days we have found feathers in my and nearby orchards. Two severely injured birds have been rescued, which confirmed that they were victims of a poaching attempt," Sanjay Desai said.

"From the feathers found in the orchards, it seems that at least seven peacocks had been poached for meat and their feathers. Other peacocks may have fled from the location after the attack on them," Rathod said. Deputy conservator of forest, Surat, Anil Vasava said, "We had examined the location and found one peacock and one peahen in bad condition. It seems an attempt had been made to trap them for their feathers. So far we have not received any evidence of poaching from the location. However, our investigation is still on."

The rescued birds are being treated at a rehabilitation centre in Bardoli.

BY:- Times of  India

No comments:

Post a Comment