Ahmedabad:Eight persons were arrested by the officials of forest department for allegedly hunting demoiselle crane, a migratory bird, at Mokarsagar wetland in Ranavav taluka of Porbandar district.
Acting on a tip-off that some persons were killing the migratory birds who descend on the wetland in large number during winter season, a team of forest department officials of Ranavav Range Forest arrested eight persons from the wetland area early today, Ranavav Range Forest Officer A H Vaniya said.
Vaniya said they had received a tip-off that some persons are involved in killing migratory birds at Mokarsagar wetland by laying trap in the air using kites in such a manner that when birds fly, they get trapped and are then killed by slitting their throat.
“Late last night a team of officials from the department went to the wetland and waited for them for hours before they turned up at around 4 in the morning when we overpowered them and arrested them,” Vaniya said.
A demoiselle crane was also recovered from their possession, he said, adding that three of the arrested persons were involved in hunting and are from Gosabara village near the wetland.
“Five others were there to purchase the birds from them and are from Dev Dwarka district,” he said.
They were arrested under section 9 (prohibition of hunting) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Vaniya said