Couple Nabbed Cooking Peahen Meat in Wildlife Sanctuary

A couple was arrested late Sunday night by Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary personnel for hunting and cooking a peahen. The poachers, identified as Surendra Khadia, 40, and Rashmi Khadia, 30, were apprehended in Labantikra near the sanctuary's foothills. They confessed to using a synthetic thread snare to capture the peahen nesting near a firewood collection site. The intention was to consume its meat and sell its feathers. Wildlife officials confiscated cooked peahen meat, eggs, feathers, and various tools used in the poaching act. The arrested individuals were produced before a local court and remanded to judicial custody after their bail plea was rejected. Officials noted that ground-nesting birds like peahens, francolins, partridges, and quails are frequently targeted for their meat and feathers in the Debrigarh landscape. To combat this, eco-development committees have been sensitized, and informer networks have been established in surrounding villages, with rewards offered for credible tips. Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, renowned for its bison population, also hosts numerous peacocks and peahens, which are often seen along tourist trails. Authorities urge tourists to avoid disturbing the wildlife and remind them that harming or hunting these birds constitutes a serious wildlife crime.