Sixteen peahens and six peacocks were found dead on a farm at Keezhapoigaipatti village near Manapparai in the district on Monday.
The dead birds were found lying scattered in and around the agricultural land belonging to a farmer, Rasu. Forest Department officials visited the spot based on information from local residents.
A Forest Department officer said samples from the carcasses were taken and would be sent to the Regional Forensic laboratory at Tiruchi to determine the cause of the deaths of the birds. The officer suspected that the death of the birds could be due to poisoning but said it would be known only after the receipt of forensic report.
Following completion of the post-mortems, the carcasses were buried in the premises of the office of the Forest Ranger at Manapparai.
Meanwhile, Rasu's wife Ponnammal alias Chinnaponnu (55) was arrested on the charge of placing hare traps along the boundary of the farm land. Placing the traps is an offence, the officer said.
The department officials are on the lookout for Rasu who is absconding. A case under Section 9 of the Wild Life Protection Act has been booked.
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