Bird poachers gang busted at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve

Forest depart officials on Wednesday claimed to have busted a gang of bird poachers with the arrest of three people at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve buffer zone with over 3,000 caged parakeets.

Acting on a tip-off that some bird poachers were attempting to smuggle parrots in large numbers after catching them from the reserved forest area, a team led by Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) Dinesh Badola and Bijendra Singh rushed to nab the culprits, officials said.

An SUV was intercepted near Mohrena block in Mailani range and the three people were nabbed, an official said.

"Three thousand parakeets were recovered from the SUV. Those arrested have been identified as Sunny, Rakesh and Bilsan," field director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) Ramesh Pandey said.

The accused have confessed that they caught the birds from reserved forest areas to sell them in markets," an official said.

A case under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act has been lodged, while interrogation to identify others involved in this illicit trade was on, he said.