Jhenaidah Correspondent :The bird poachers directly involved in hunting the birds, especially some rear species of birds are unabated as the law enforcers virtually keeping their eyes “closed” on the issues. It has been encouraging the bird poachers running their illegal and anti-government policies.At least 150 bird poachers have been hunting dove, parrot, teeya, maina, charui and other birds keeping a single of the species in their cages in Jhenaidah Sadar, Kaliganj, Kotchandpur, Moheshpur, Sailkupa and Harinakundu upazila. Most of them come from Jessore and border belts of Jessore, Jhenaidah and Chuadanga.Aslam Uddin, a bird poacher from Sharsaha in Jessore Sadar while selling a number of teey as in his cages at Sailkupa town in Jhenaidah when asked sai, they hunt the birds from the jungles and bushy trees in the area. They sale a pair of the species at Taka 300 to 400 to the retailers in the locality. He earns Taka 1,500 to 2,000 a day, Aslam said.Liton Bed, another bird poacher also a retailer of the same said, usually they purchase the same from other area poachers and sale them in the locality. Liton earns Taka 1,200 to 1,50 a day, while the figure rises to 2,000 sometimes, he said.When this correspondent visited Jhenaidah central bus terminal, Arappur and Chuadanga bus stoppage, Hamdah stand and Sailkupa upazila head quarters saw a number of bird poachers, also the sellers were doing their business on the very nose of the law enforcers. A personnel of the law enforcers was seen purchase two doves for consumption and a cage of Teeya for the nursing purposes in his resident. It was also seen that the number of “educated” people was seen purchasing the birds from the sellers in the town.While, the bird poachers when contacted said, they were informed that the hunting and selling of the natural birds were banned and also a punishable crime. But they did not face any law enforcers or mobile court during hunting or selling the birds at any place in the district in last couple of years, they said.Tanmoy Acharjee, assistant conservator of forest (ACF) of the department of forestry in Jessore region when contacted over cellular phone said, a team has been working at Benapole area in Jessore under the wild life conservative section of Khulna who conducts drive at the places under the division time to time.Masud Ahmed Sanju, an environmentalist when contacted said, the hunting of birds was an offense under the existing wild life conservation laws. Both seller or poacher and buyer should be punished under the laws.To refrain the people from hunting, purchasing and preservation, the environmentalists have been running their activities like rally and other ways in the district, Sanju said.
