Forest department officials with the help of police have seized a huge cache of wildlife meat and carcasses at Doimukh check gate in Arunachal Pradesh’s Banderdewa area.
The seized items included carcasses of two barking deer, dried wild boar meat, dried porcupine, jungle fowl, squirrel, farm civet and 15 birds of three different species.
The animal meats and carcasses were seized during a checking drive at the Doimukh check gate on Monday.
Divisional Forest Officer of Banderdewa, H B Abo said that most of the wild animals’ carcasses have been transported from East Kameng and Pakke Kessang districts in a bus, while the birds were brought in from Hoj village under Doimukh circle.
He said the dried meat of jungle fowl would be sent to the forensic laboratory at PTC, Banderdewa for testing.
The DFO said that all the seized wild animals’ meat and carcasses were later destroyed at Kola Camp near Doimukh by the forest officials.
The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) taking serious note of “rampant selling of wildlife meat in the markets” urged the State government to initiate necessary action to prevent such unlawful activities.
“It is a tendency of hunters to sell wild meat in the festive season and there is an urgent need to prevent this practice,” the AAPSU said.
AAPSU president Hawa Bagang called for a collective approach by all and government efforts at the community level to discourage the locals from hunting by involving the CBOs and the AAPSU.