Seeing migratory birds fly in the winter season skies can mesmerize any private– be it the skilled birdwatcher or a simple passer-by.
Nevertheless, stumbling upon these scenes have actually developed into an unusual event, as poachers are threatening the biodiversity.
Sylhet department sees an annual migration of countless migratory birds. In spite of constant raids by mobile courts, setting fines and raising awareness, poaching is an issue that keeps continuing.
According to the Department of Wildlife Management and Nature Preservation, the occurrence of bird hunters is greatest in Hakaluki Haor, Hail Haor and Baikka Beel in Sylhet area, and different other haor-beels and field-ghats.
Aside from skilled hunters, residents and villagers too take part in the searching.
A consistent problem behind the unabated searching appears to be an absence of awareness amongst the general public. Either individuals do not understand a types of bird is secured, and for that reason, unlawful to hunt, or in most cases the hunters do not understand there’s a high fine and prison term if they are captured poaching.
Moniruzzaman Chowdhury, website officer of Centre for Natural Deposit Research Studies (CNRS), who worked for the defense of Hail Haor under a job entitled “Environment Regional Ecosystems Income”, stated they had the ability to take a number of toxin traps from Baikka Beel when they had 7 staffers at their disposal, prior to the task ended in 2018.
Poachers generally set traps right prior to dawn or sunset to capture the birds.
Simply a fortnight earlier, a male called Khaja Mia was captured with birds from West Bharaora location of Sreemangal upazila. A minimum of 5 migratory birds and searching devices were taken from his belongings. The mobile court fined him Tk 3,000.
Biswajit Bhattacharjee Bapon, representative of Mita Structure, a voluntary organisation for preservation, stated they knew that Khaja Mia is associated with searching different types of birds in Hail Haor.
Area 38 (2) of the Bangladesh Wildlife Preservation and Security Act 2012 states that anyone who acquires, offers or transfers the flesh of any bird or migratory bird pointed out in Set up 1 and 2 will be considered a transgressor and be responsible to the optimum charge for the stated offense– jail time of as much as 6 months or fine of as much as Tk 30,000 or both.
If the exact same offense is duplicated, they can be penalized with jail time for an optimum of one year and a fine of Tk 50,000 or both, Bapon stated.
On September 25, the mobile court sentenced another male, Abdus Shaheed Raju, to 15 days in jail and fined him Tk 5,000 in Moulvibazar Thana Bazar. Authorities took 8 birds from his belongings.
Previously on August 30, the forest department launched 32 birds that were taken from Parua market in Sylhet’s Bholaganj.
Nurul Mohaimin Milton, basic secretary of Moulvibazar Environmental reporter Association, stated birds are being hunted from various locations and are being offered in secrecy. He stated awareness is a huge barrier as many individuals in the towns still do not understand that searching and selling of secured types of birds is a criminal activity.
Sandeep Talukder, assistant commissioner (land) of Sreemangal land workplace informed The Daily Star, “We generally are familiar with about bird poaching based upon tip-offs. The hunters sit tight inside the haor with their boats. We have actually been performing raids in various locations of the haor because recently.”
On The Other Hand, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, divisional forest officer of Sylhet Department of Wildlife Management and Nature Preservation, stated if they discover any info of bird hunters, proper legal steps are taken instantly.
He likewise stated the Forest Department is continuing its work to increase public awareness through routine projects.
