Global News - December 2007

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Indian officials 'don't have the resources to protect rare birds from poaching'

Fri 14 December 2007 13:30 UK — Asia,Birds

Poor infrastructure and a lack of funding means that Indian wildlife officers are unable to prevent poaching on the wetlands near the city of Mumbai.

Around 300 varieties of birds inhabit the coastal wetlands and mudflats in Mumbai, Thane and Raigad, but the region is unprotected by officials, the Times of India reported.

A senior state wildlife official, who wished to remain unnamed, explained to the paper that his department could technically book any person who illegally shoots a wild animal even if the area does not come under the jurisdiction of a forest territory.

However, he revealed that a lack of both staff and adequate infrastructure meant that the mud banks, estuaries and mangroves near the city remain completely unprotected.

Local wildlife expert Sunjoy Monga told the paper: "We need to have mobile police and regular patrolling in these areas, otherwise poaching incidents … will continue.

"Mumbai is blessed with some of the best water bodies in the world. The flamingos feed on the algae and they usually arrive here in November and stay till May."

Earlier this month, two men were filmed shooting a number of rare lesser flamingos in the Sewri mangrove swamp in central Mumbai.

Luckily, their illegal actions were filmed by bird watchers who gave the evidence to the police. It was used to make a number of arrests, the BBC reported.

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