[ Prafulla Kaman ]
PASIGHAT, 4 Jan: Forest officials from Daporijo,led by DFO (T) Boken Pao, recently seized large quantities of wild animal carcasses and wild meat from the markets in and around Daporijo town in Upper Subansiri district.
The seizures were made during regular checking drives conducted on New Year’s Eve. The seized items included various mammalian species, rodents, birds and reptiles. However, no arrest could be made in this connection.
The DFO said that stopping illegal hunting and selling of wild meat is posing a great challenge due to its increasing demand among the rich and influential people. He said that the people are indulging in wildlife hunting due to the increasing demand. “Further, wild meat is sold at very high prices, which is encouraging the poor people to indulge in such illegal activities,” he said.
The DFO said that the divisional forest office, in association with Kamle forest division, the Upper Subansiri district administration and local students’union organised a series of awareness programmes in Daporijo to educate the people about the importance of wildlife conservation.
“But hunting and trading of wild meat is going on unabated in the markets of Daporijo,” Pao lamented.
He appealed to the community leaders of Upper Subansiri district to come forward and work for the protection of wild resources.
The DFO said also that they are facing difficulty in effectively tackling illegal wildlife hunting activities in their area due to shortage of human resource and vehicles.