AT Photo: Individuals were arrested following the poaching of a barking deer (Northern Red Muntjac) in Mizoram
Aizawl, Dec. 2: With winter setting in, poaching incidents have surged in Mizoram, with four individuals arrested for killing wild animals in separate incidents last week, according to officials from the State's Environment, Forests & Climate Change (EF&CC) department.
In Kolasib district's Bairabi forest range, bordering Assam, forest officials acting on a tip-off from the Young Mizo Association's (YMA) local volunteers recovered a carcass of a barking deer (Northern Red Muntjac, Muntiacus vaginalis) on the banks of the Tlawng river near Bairabi village on the night of November 29.
The deer, bearing bullet wounds, was killed allegedly by three men - identified as Prodip Chakma (40), Prodip Poddo Chakma (36), and Geno Prodip Chakma - all residents of Bhaichorra in Assam's Hailakandi district. The suspects, who claimed to be bamboo cutters working in the area, were arrested, and the mutilated carcass was buried after being soaked with fuel.
A criminal case was registered against the trio, and they were produced before a magistrate in Kolasib district who remanded them in judicial custody on Saturday.
In another incident on November 27, a farmer from Mampui village in Mizoram's southern Lawngtlai district was arrested by the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Chhimtuipui Wildlife Division, for trapping a wild boar near his jhum hut. Officials seized smoked meat and three legs of the boar. The farmer was fined Rs 20,000 under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
State forest officials said that winter is a critical time for wildlife, as many animals such as wild boars migrate to Mizoram from low-lying areas in search of food. The season also coincides with traditional hunting practices among tribals, as agricultural activities related to jhum (slash-and-burn shifting cultivation) are minimal during this period.
Officials stressed the need for greater awareness to preserve wildlife and biodiversity, and urged communities to adopt sustainable practices to protect the region's ecological balance.
