KOLHAPUR: The western ghats have been experiencing rising incidence of hunting of wild animals during the lockdown period, when everyone is busy fighting the coronavirus, the recent arrest of around a dozen poachers in different cases suggests.
The forest officers recently arrested five people for allegedly trespassing the forest area and for killing a porcupine.
They have been identified as Vikram Pravin Mithapure (19), Pravin Amarsinh Mithapure (40), Anil Kisan Shinde (46), Sachin Tulshidas Shinde (34, all resident of Govedigar, taluka Wai, district Satara) and Jivan Waman Dhumal (44, resident of Mardhe, district Satara).
The forest officers charged the suspects under section 9, 39, 50 and 51 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and section 26 (1)(I) of Indian Forest Act, 1927.
“Acting on a tip-off, our team rushed to the house of Mithapure in Wai taluka on April 26 and found that he had cooked porcupine meat. After enquiring, we got information that five people had gone to the forest and caught a porcupine using a trap. We have seized the material used for hunting the animal,” said a forest officers.
In another incident, a team of Satara forest department arrested six people, who were found in the buffer zone of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve and for hunting a wild boar. Two weeks ago, the Sawantwadi forest department officers arrested a man for allegedly hunting two giant squirrels (Ratufa indica).
Forest officers said that they are a keeping a tight vigil to protect the wildlife, which is national resource, and hunting is prohibited. They have appealed to people to not take advantage of the lockdown and indulge in hunting of wild animals, which is punishable by law.
The forest officers recently arrested five people for allegedly trespassing the forest area and for killing a porcupine.
They have been identified as Vikram Pravin Mithapure (19), Pravin Amarsinh Mithapure (40), Anil Kisan Shinde (46), Sachin Tulshidas Shinde (34, all resident of Govedigar, taluka Wai, district Satara) and Jivan Waman Dhumal (44, resident of Mardhe, district Satara).
The forest officers charged the suspects under section 9, 39, 50 and 51 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and section 26 (1)(I) of Indian Forest Act, 1927.
“Acting on a tip-off, our team rushed to the house of Mithapure in Wai taluka on April 26 and found that he had cooked porcupine meat. After enquiring, we got information that five people had gone to the forest and caught a porcupine using a trap. We have seized the material used for hunting the animal,” said a forest officers.
In another incident, a team of Satara forest department arrested six people, who were found in the buffer zone of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve and for hunting a wild boar. Two weeks ago, the Sawantwadi forest department officers arrested a man for allegedly hunting two giant squirrels (Ratufa indica).
Forest officers said that they are a keeping a tight vigil to protect the wildlife, which is national resource, and hunting is prohibited. They have appealed to people to not take advantage of the lockdown and indulge in hunting of wild animals, which is punishable by law.
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