Demand for Wild Animals Meat Grows During Weekends, Bengaluru/Keralam the Markets
In the fringes not many are into agriculture but take the lucrative option of poaching.
BENGALURU: Wildlife activists observe a rise in poaching cases especially wild herbivorous animals such as spotted deer, Indian Guars and wild boars during weekends in and around the protected areas and the meat (deer venison) reaches Bengaluru for consumption while Indian Guar meat reaches its destination Keralam, clandestinely, where demand is more.
“The cases of poaching had fallen in recent years but again it has shown a steady increase owing to forest officials paying more attention to man-animal conflicts to drive straying wild animals tigers/elephants/leopards away from villages. Taking advantage of the more forest personnel deployed in man-animal mitigation measures, poachers seize the opportunity and strike at wild animals,” said a wildlife activist familiar with conditions in Mysuru, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu.
As per the information gathered by the wildlife activists, a kilo of deer meat (venison) costs Rs 1,200 and Indian Gaur meat is priced at Rs 1,000 a kilo which is mainly supplied to Keralam from Kodagu and Hunsur parts sharing borders with Keralam.
However, a senior official of Karnataka Forest Department told Deccan Chronicle on Friday the exact number of poaching incidents across Karnataka was not available immediately and it will take a month’s time to gather all details from various divisions.
A Forest Range Officer said “Poaching takes place for quick money. In the fringes not many are into agriculture but take the lucrative option of poaching.” A wildlife activist stated “If venison is priced at Rs 1,200 a kilo and poaching an adult deer would fetch about 25-kg of meat.”
A wildlife activist familiar with conditions in Nagarahole Nation Park spread across Mysuru and Kodagu districts said “Nowadays, poachers wait on the fringes for spotted deer, wild boars and Indian Guars to stray out of the reserves/park and hunt them for meat. Apart from firing at them, some take electrocution to kill straying wild herbivorous animals while some use snares to trap them.
In certain cases of poaching, wildlife activists allege forest guards are hand in glove with poachers and many a times, such incidents go unnoticed.
