Bhubaneswar: In gross violation of Wildlife Act, a hunter has been catching Alexandrine parakeet chicks from a tree nest in Kandhamal district. The video of the hunter’s illegal activities, which has raised the concern of wildlife activists, has become viral in social media.
The video that has been uploaded in YouTube account “kandhamal l.k channel” shows the young hunter climbing a tree in a forest in the district and bringing out the chicks from the nest. He keeps the chicks in his towel and gets down from the tree.
In a shocking behaviour on the part of the hunter, he is found waving smilingly at the camera and then shows the chicks he has captured from the nest. Since the chicks do not have fully developed wings, they are found moving around on the ground.
In another video, the parakeet chicks are shown being kept inside the cages and being fed from bowls.
[Watch] Odisha Hunter Catches Parakeet Chicks From Nest; Wildlife Activists Demand Action – YouTube
Drawing the attention of Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wild Life) and Chief Wild Life Warden of Odisha in a letter, Subhendu Mallik, Honorary Wildlife Warden, Khurda district has stated that since Alexandrine parakeet is a protected bird under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, this video provides evidence to a wildlife crime.
“Such hunters supply parakeet chicks to different places of Odisha where those are sold in open market. Such hunting videos encourage others to keep parakeets as pets. Besides, posting of such videos of Indian wildlife on YouTube and other social media platforms is a violation of the advisory of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau,” Malli said in the letter.
Requesting the authorities to take stringent action against the hunter, he said a fresh directive should be issued to curb such acts in the state. He has submitted the hunting videos and their screenshots along with the letter to the authorities.
