How we treat our birds
A vast wetland near Calcutta has emerged as a well-liked drive destination over the past few months. The wetland is also a killing field for hundreds of birds every day, many of whom fly in from thousands of kilometres away, said birders and conservationists.
A man was arrested from Bortir Bill in Nilgunj, North 24-Parganas, around 35km from the heart of Calcutta, on Sunday evening with a net and dead birds. The arrest has blown the lid off an alleged mass killing of birds at the wetland by a neighborhood of residents of the world , wildlife activists said. Over the past three days, scores of nylon nets — some of them 100-metres long — have been removed from the wetland. The nets, white and almost transparent, are as good as invisible. The only giveaway are the bamboo poles on which the nets are erected.During winter, when the water recedes, the wetland is that the destination of the many migratory birds, mainly from central Asia and Trans-Siberian region. Some of them are Glossy Ibis, Eurasian Coot, Pacific Golden Plover and Wood Sandpiper, said birdwatchers.
The place has been known to birders for some time. It emerged as a well-liked destination for nature lovers during the lockdown, generating significant online traction and attracting flocks of photographers, amateur and professional. But the alleged killings didn't come to the fore until recently.
“The nets were found out
after sundown and removed before sunset. We had received information
from some residents about the killings,” said Sumanta Pramanick, a
volunteer with Human and Environment Alliance League (HEAL), the NGO
that has visited the place several times over the past week, filming the
nets, visiting local markets posing as possible customers of birds and lecture residents on the alleged killings.
“Not all trapped birds are eaten. But they are also trapped in the nets and are injured. They are left to die,” said Pramanick.
“This (the killings) are happening for several years now. But the scale has gone up in the past five-six years. The local markets see many
birds, dead and injured, every day. The birds sell for anywhere between
Rs 150 and 400 apiece,” said a resident who requested anonymity for
fear of reprisal, since a part of the local population is said to be
involved in the alleged killings.
The NGO, HEAL, collaborated with the state forest department in conducting raids at a number of the local markets. Films shot by HEAL members and shared with this newspaper showed several birds trapped in the nets. Birdwatcher and conservationist Sujan Chatterjee identified a number of the trapped birds because the Pacific plover
and Wood Sandpiper. The former comes from the Pacific coasts off Russia
and China, while the latter comes from Siberia, he said.
V.K. Yadav, the chief wildlife warden of Bengal, said the forest department had received complaints about migratory birds being killed at Bortir Bill. “Egrets (local birds) were found on the person who was arrested on Sunday. We have got some reports, on the basis of which we are conducting raids at nearby markets,” said Yadav.“There is nothing that suggests that the birds are being hunted for commercial use. Some people might hunt birds for personal consumption. We are looking into the difficulty and can do all that's needed,” he said.
But conservationists said the recovery of so many nets from the area suggested otherwise. “People don’t spend so much for a personal meal. The scale of investment points to large-scale commercial incentives. I cannot recall a previous instance of such large-scale killing of migratory birds within the recent past,” said Chatterjee.
“We are collating a comprehensive report back to be submitted to the forest department. At least a few hundred birds were being killed every day,” she added.
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