5 more peacocks found dead in Rajasthan with necks broken, 200 killed in one year in same district

The national bird of India, one of the most colorful birds species in the bird, is in danger as poachers and farmers seem to enjoy liberty for even mass killing in states like Rajasthan. In this series, recently five more peacocks were found dead in district Bundi, which is already infamous for peacock poaching. The postmortem revealed their necks were broken. Wildlife experts are of the opinion that farmers could have killed these birds to protect their crops. The farmers also take to poisoning to keep away these birds from agricultural land. In 2016 only, 200 peacocks were killed in Bundi district alone.

It’s noticeable that sale of peacock feathers is still legal in India that encourage poachers to hunt these birds for their meat and feathers. The feathers are sold at high rates in foreign countries like Dubai where people use them for religious rituals, reports sources. The feathers are also used in some Ayurvedic medicines, which is another reason for rise poaching.

The Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 prohibits killing of bird, violation of which is punishable under section 51 (1-A) with imprisonment that may extend to seven years and financial penalty. However, there is no restriction on collecting feathers of birds that die of natural causes.

As it is difficult to ascertain whether feathers were plucked after killing the bird or collected after it died of natural causes, the poacher have an advantage.

The local wildlife wing also suggests that poacher from west create unnecessary panic among farmers by creating negative image of the bird in relation to their farmland. They tell farmers that peacocks have destroyed farmlands in other countries and they will do the same to their land too. When farmers poison these birds, these poacher collect them and for their meat and feathers. This saves them from legal troubles.

As per report published in Mail Today,

It is found that during seed sowing season farmers generally put pesticide which peacocks feed and get killed. There are certain traditional communities which are also engaged in poaching of birds and Bundi is worst hit when it comes to killing of peacocks,

said the additional principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) GV Reddy.

ats of peacock like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Western Ghats have also witnessed surge in poaching.