A Forest Department team on Sunday seized several dead munias from a trio that had allegedly hunted them and were trying to sell them at Pettavaithalai in the district. The three accused were arrested.
Acting on information, the team led by Tiruchi Forest Ranger M. Balakrishnan went to Pettavaithalai in the morning and found the trio — M. Shanmugam (39), R. Silambarasan (29) and M. Sathishkumar (27) — trying to sell the dead birds on roadside at Pettavaithalai.
Of a total 330 munias seized from the trio, 310 were found dead. It was a sizeable seizure by the team, said District Forest Officer Naga Sathish Gidijala.
A department official said the trio had poached the birds in Ariyalur area and brought them to Tiruchi for sale to regular customers.
The munias come under Scheduled IV species of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, said the official adding that their hunting and sale were prohibited. The birds were small in size and found in groups in sugarcane fields and farm lands and their scientific name was Estrildinae.
The trio and the seized birds were brought to the office of the District Forest Officer here. A case was booked after an inquiry. Two of the accused, Shanmugam and Silambarasan, hailed from Mettumarudhur near Kulithalai, while Sathishkumar was from Manjampatti village near Manapparai, sources said.
