Srinagar: Days after the Wildlife Department arrested a poacher from Srinagar for hunting down migratory birds in Wular Lake in the Valley, wildlife officials and those guarding the lake say that the action has prevented poaching in Wullar and other lakes as well.
The Wildlife Department in coordination with Jammu and Kashmir police had arrested an alleged poacher from Srinagar, who was identified as Farooq Ahmad Boktoo after their photos and videos captured by CCTVs in Wullar Lake were shared by the department on social media.
Altaf Hussain, Wildlife Warden (Wetlands) Kashmir, told ETV Bharat that the four accused poachers were identified as Fayaz Wangnoo, Zahoor Dar, Ashiq Dar and Farooq Wangnoo, got anticipatory bail from the court, but they presented themselves before him for the investigation.
“The department will file a chargesheet against them in the court where they will be put on trial under the Wildlife Act,” Hussain told ETV Bharat. Besides the hunting shotguns, the Wildlife officials seized 12 decoy ducks from the accused, which they were using to lure birds to hunt them down.
He said that the installation of high-resolution CCTVs in the lake has enabled the department to arrest the accused and prevented the poaching of migratory birds in Wular and other wetlands. “The high-resolution CCTVs have been installed in the Wullar Lake, which captures pictures and video of the poachers when they go out for hunting down migratory birds,” he said.
Locals and officials in Wular and other wetlands like Haigam, Hokersar and Shalbugh said that the poachers have been scared and alerted after the arrest of poachers, who were identified by CCTVs in Wular Lake.
“Technology can be very helpful in preventing the hunting down of migratory birds. The department must install more such cameras in vulnerable spots of all wetlands in Kashmir,” Dr Irfan Shams, an avid bird watcher, told ETV Bharat.
Dr Shams said the Wullar Lake incident and further legal action will prove as a strong deference for poachers against hunting down of birds,” he said.
A senior official in the Forest Department said that the CCTVs have been very helpful and more such cameras are being installed on the lakes where migratory birds arrive in the Valley during winter.
Thousands of migratory birds arrive in Kashmir during winter and stay in Wular, Asia's largest freshwater lake in Bandipora district, Hokersar in Srinagar outskirts, Haigam in Baramulla and Shalbugh and other smaller wetlands in Pampore belt of Pulwama district.
These lakes are an abode for migratory birds, who arrive from Europe, Siberia and Russia and stay in Kashmir during winter months before departing with the onset of Spring.
Wildlife Warden Hussain said that as per the Wildlife Act 1972, the people living in the vicinity of the lakes, which are habitat of migratory birds must surrender and deposit their licensed weapons before the police.
“I have written to the District Magistrates and police chiefs of all districts in the Valley about the licensed weapons depositing when the migratory birds start arriving. We get good cooperation from the administration which prevents poaching also,” he said, adding those persons who violate the Act are booked by the authorities.
If the changes against the accused poachers are established by the Wildlife Department in the Wular poaching incident, the accused can be in jail for one year to three years, he had told ETV Bharat on December 10 when the accused was arrested.
