Fishing nets used for trapping lesser flamingos
Times of India By Himanshu Kaushik
Print Edition
The modus operandi of the fishermen involved in the poaching of 64 lesser flamingos in Venasar village in Maliya-Miyana Taluka was very simple. During the day fishing nets would be spread in the sea and in the darkness the trapped flamingos would picked up.
Senior forest department officials said that the fishermen had tried to trap the birds in the age old modus operandi by putting nets on wooden poles. As the number of birds trapped was too small, the fishermen decided to lay the nets in the sea. "When the fishermen were caught, they would say that they had spread the net for fishing and not for poaching. However, in the night, when the birds returned to the area for resting, they would get trapped in the net."
Officials said since these fishermen had taken shelter in the nearby field from where they could keep a watch on the sea easily, they would bring the birds in the field to kill them. The torsos were then loaded in tractors and transported to the hotels and restaurants in the nearby area."
The six arrested have so far maintained that this was their first act of poaching for the new year celebration. However, their involvement in regular poaching is not being ruled out.
Remains of flamingos; (R) a fishing net used for poaching
Officials said that of the six, four are fishermen who are expert in fishing, while the other two were involved in supplying and transporting the meat to the hotels and restaurants.
Officials said they have found different kind of nets which were used for trapping the birds. The police have recovered the knives which were used for killing the birds.
Manhunt for the owners of the farm has been launched.
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