CHENNAI: Chicken that you order from food outlets in Kancheepuram district, could well be a pond heron, a cattle egret or any one of the wild large waterbird found in the wetlands of our State.
A study conducted by researchers from National Centre for Biological Sciences and National Conservation Foundation across 27 wetlands in Kanchee-puram district shockingly revealed that illegal hunting and sale of large water birds, was rampant in the district.
The study found that 47 out of the 53 water birds found in these wetlands were being hunted despite being protected by Wildlife Act 1972. Hundreds of hunters in possession of single-barrel muzzle loading gun, catapults, snares, traps and glue pads roam the wetlands hunting birds daily, the study revealed. “About 11 hunters operate in each wetland and they bag about 21 birds in each foray,” said R Ramachandran, lead author of the study.
Speaking to Express, Ramachandran narrated what a typical hunting foray looks like. “The hunters send a couple of scouts at dusk to identify the birds’ night hide-out. Around 3 am, a team of three of four hunters approach the location with their guns and catapult. When one bird is disturbed, the entire flock flies. They make use of this to shoot down tens of birds,” he said.
The study was performed by the researchers after they built trust with the hunters by visiting them repeatedly for months. The hunting operates in an organised fashion, where only one hunter shoots and others assist him in flushing and collecting the birds. The profit is then shared among them.
As part of the study, a questionnaire was handed out to 272 hunters. All hunters were male and aged between 26 and 54 and more than half of them had at least completed elementary school.
The study says that while nearly two-thirds of the hunters knew that it was illegal, none expressed fear of prosecution. Over 73% of hunters told the researchers that they primarily hunted for money and not for sport. “On an average, they make about ` 13,000 a month from the hunt,” said Ramachandran.
Almost all hunting happens on weekends, when they are immediately transported to local shandy and sold in the open. Five open markets were found to be selling these wild water birds during the course of this study. The market first opens to premium customers who buy all exotic birds. The regular ones are then auctioned and sold to local eateries that pass them off as chicken.
“74.63% of hunters interviewed reported supplying birds to 426 eateries in the region. In stark contrast, only 8 out of surveyed 681 eateries acknowledged serving wild meat,” the study said. Pond heron was observed to be the most commonly traded species and also the cheapest along with cattle egrets. While these two cost about `150 a bird, spot pelican was found to be the most expensive as it cost `2,500. Asian open bill and black headed ibis cost `1,000.
With such rampant hunting, the birds have become more alert and paranoid around humans, observed the researcher. The impact of this hunting on bird population however remains unclear as there is no baseline study performed in the State.
“Most people who consume the meat in these eateries are unaware that these are wild birds. They think it’s chicken. If these birds carry an epidemic, there is no way one can trace back to the population,” said Ramachandran.
Water birds that are found in protected bird sanctuaries like Vedanthangal bird sanctuary, that has a similar environment, were, however, not found in agricultural wetlands. This confusion is what led to the study, he said.