Wildlife poachers flex muscles in Bannerghatta

Incidents of wildlife poaching are on the rise in the Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) as unscrupulous elements are taking advantage of the Covid-19 lockdown.

In the latest incident, two persons, one of them carrying a gun, were seen moving in the forest at Jaipur Doddi in the Ragihalli Gram Panchayat limits on April 15. A surveillance camera has captured their movements.

Wildlife activists shared the footage and expressed concerns over rising incidents of poaching in the eco-sensitive forests of Bannerghatta on the southern outskirts of Bengaluru. “With forest officials busy checking wildfires in the summer, poachers are taking advantage of the situation. They are killing animals with snares,” said Bhanu Prakash of the Bannerghatta Nature Conservation Trust.

Bannerghatta Deputy Conservator of Forests, Prashanth Shankinmat, said he visited the spot the next day. “It’s clear that people roaming around at night carrying guns are trying to poach the animals. We will find the persons caught on camera,” he said.

Shankinmath said the incidents of poaching were high in forests beyond the BNP limits in Ragihalli and Shivanahalli. “We are also keeping tabs on people who are trying their hand at hunting as they are bored sitting at home in Bengaluru (due to the lockdown),” he added.

The official said that the killing of animals listed under schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act would attract seven year’s imprisonment. There are also legal provisions to penalise those hunting outside the park’s limits, he added.