Officials of the Villupuram Forest Department on Sunday arrested a man on charges of poaching and selling birds at Sanjeevirayanpettai near Tindivanam.
The accused, identified as A. Sankar, 52, was nabbed by a team led by Tindivanam Range Forest Officer R.M Perumal and Forester P. Thirumalai, based on a tip-off. The officials seized carcasses of 13 cattle egrets and five night herons from him.
Forest Department personnel said the accused had trapped the birds using snares at a waterbody in Singanur near Jakkampettai. Samples of the carcasses were collected for investigation and the rest were buried as per court orders. Sankar was produced before a local court and remanded in custody.
Both the species are listed in Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).