Sambalpur: Forest officials arrested a couple for allegedly trespassing and poaching inside Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary under the Hirakud Wildlife Division in Sambalpur district, officials said.
The accused were identified as Surendra Khadia (40), and Rashmi Khadia (30) of Lavantikra village. The couple was produced in court Monday.
A night patrol team apprehended them Sunday and seized a large quantity of peacock meat along with snares, country-made ammunition, traps, an axe and iron knives, informed Divisional Forest Officer Anshupragya Das Monday. The night patrol team, received a tip-off about peacock hunting in the sanctuary.
Acting on the intel, officials raided the village on the sanctuary’s fringes and detained the couple. The couple admitted to have poached peacock during questioning. They told investigators they found a peacock nest while collecting firewood in the forest and set a synthetic snare to trap the bird for meat and to sell its feathers.
Peacocks, which nest on the ground, are particularly vulnerable during the egg-laying season in summer, making them easy targets for poachers. Forest officials said local eco-development committees have been alerted to step up vigilance to protect birds such as peafowl, cuckoos and junglefowl in the Debrigarh area. The informer who tipped off the department will be rewarded, Das said.
