This year the count is much bigger than last year’s to say that Bangladesh offers one of the best staying places for the migratory birds until winter climate improves for the return of the birds to their original habitats. Birds have special sensors to know their destinations and fly over several days to reach the new place over thousands of miles to the East. Their choice for Hakaluki Haor is increasing, as environment-friendly aquatic trees are abundantly available in the vast water bodies spanning over six Upazilas of Moulovi Bazar and Sylhet districts.
We must say migratory birds are our guests and need to be protected. But we have also many mindless poachers who go on hunting the birds at night and kill them to eat a delicious fest. Some of these birds are also seen in ponds and water bodies in and around the Jahangir Nagar University and they are also not totally safe from the poachers. It is sad that many peddlers take such birds in city streets for push sale to show the terrible fate they face while taking shelter away from Siberian cold.
We know such poaching is illegal and yet some people are hunting them and others don’t feel scared to bring them for sale in city centers. We must say the law enforcers must show their vigilance and officials of the Department of Environment must set up watch posts around such sanctuaries to make sure that poachers have no easy access to such birds’ sanctuaries for hunting. It appears that such water bodies are totally unprotected to the whims of the bird hunters and the local administration must take effective steps to deny such access to birds hunters.
Our problem is that we have laws but their application is absent as powerful people break the laws. In our view only exemplary punishment such as detention and imposing fines on poachers can put signals to such lawbreakers that birds are also protected and they have no freedom to kill them. Cruelty to animals is not acceptable, least to migrant birds which travel thousands of miles for a safe winter stay.
