Poacher held with 14 dead migratory birds near Odisha’s Chilika lake

Bhubaneswar: Forest department officials have arrested a poacher and seized 14 dead migratory birds from his possession near Chilika lake in Odisha.

A 12-member team of the Forest department raided several places under Brahmagiri range in Puri district today afternoon and seized the dead migratory birds, sources said.

The members of the team arrested a poacher while two others managed to escape. A two-wheeler and a mobile phone have been seized from the arrested poacher, sources added.

“We suspect that the poachers have killed the migratory birds by poisoning them. We will carry out frequent raids to discourage poaching of birds near Chilika,” said an official of the Forest department.

Notably, lakhs of migratory birds from far-flung places congregate at Chilika, the largest brackish water lake in Asia, during the winter.

Some people from the nearby villages often kill the birds to eat their meat. They also supply the bird meat to hotels and resorts near Chilika, spreading over Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha.