Not chicken, eateries in Chennai’s outskirts may be serving protected waterbirds instead

CHENNAI: Chicken that you order from food outlets in Kancheepuram district could well be a pond heron, a cattle egret or any one of the large wild water-birds found in the wetlands of our State.

A study conducted by researchers from National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and National Conservation Foundation (NCF) across 27 wetlands in Kancheepuram district revealed shocking details of illegal hunting and sale of large water birds that is rampant in the district.

The study found that 47 out of the 53 water birds found in these wetlands are being hunted despite being protected by Wildlife Act 1972.

Hundreds of hunters in possession of single barrel muzzle loading guns, catapults, snares, traps and glue pads roam the wetlands hunting birds everyday, the study revealed. “About 11 hunters operate in each wetland and they bag about 21 birds in each foray,” said R Ramachandran, the lead author of the study.

Speaking to Express, Ramachandran narrated what a typical hunting foray looks like. “The hunters send a couple of scouts at dusk to identify the birds’ night hideout. At around 3am, a team of three of four hunters approach the location with their guns and catapult. When one bird is disturbed, the entire flock flies. They make use of this to shoot down tens of birds,” Ramachandran said.

STORY IN PICS |  Protected waterbirds hunted in wetlands, served as chicken in Chennai outskirts 

The study was performed by the researchers after they built trust with the hunters by visiting them repeatedly for months. The hunting operates in an organised fashion, where only one hunter shoots and others assist him in flushing and collecting the birds. The profit is then divided among them.

As a part of the study, a detailed questionnaire was handed out to 272, hunters. All hunters were male and aged between 26 and 54 and more than half of them had at least completed elementary school.

The study says that while nearly two-thirds of the hunters knew that it was illegal, none expressed fear of persecution.  Over 73 per cent of hunters told the researchers that they primarily hunted for monetary reasons and not for sport. “On average, they make about Rs 13,000 a month from the hunt,” said Ramachandran.

Almost all hunting happens on weekends, when the birds are immediately transported to local shandies and sold in the open. Five open markets were found to be selling these wild water birds during the course of this study. The bird market first opens to premium customers who buy all the exotic birds. The regular ones are then auctioned and sold to local eateries that pass them off as chicken.

“In as much as 74.63 per cent of interviews, the hunters reported supplying birds to 426 eateries in the region. In stark contrast, only eight of the surveyed 681 eateries acknowledged serving wild meat,” the study said.

Pond heron was observed to be the most commonly traded species and also the cheapest, along with cattle egrets. Both of these birds are found in abundance across India. While these two cost about Rs 150 a bird, spot pelican was found to be the most expensive, as a bird cost Rs 2,500. The Asian open bill and the black-headed ibis cost Rs 1,000, while cormorants and darters cost about Rs 300 and whistling teals sell for about Rs 500 a bird.

With such rampant hunting, the birds have become more alert and paranoid around humans, a researcher said. “I observed that waterbirds in Tamil Nadu start shying away even when you’re 100m away from them,” he said. The impact of this hunting on bird population however remains unclear as there has been no baseline study performed in the State.

“Most people who consume the meat in these eateries are unaware that these are wild water birds. They simply think it’s chicken. If these birds carry an epidemic, there is no way one can trace it back to the population,” commented Ramachandran.

Large water birds that are found in protected bird sanctuaries like Vedanthangal, which has a similar environment, were however not spotted in agricultural wetlands. Their absence in the similar environment is what piqued our curiosity and led to the study, said Ramachandran.