Two beekeepers in UP's Budaun booked for poisoning birds

Two beekeepers have been booked for allegedly poisoning Indian roller birds in the Alapur area of this Uttar Pradesh district, police said on Wednesday.Bablu and Harvansh mixed poison in eatables for the birds that were allegedly affecting their bee farm, the police said.

Two beekeepers have been booked for allegedly poisoning Indian roller birds in the Alapur area of this Uttar Pradesh district, police said on Wednesday.

Bablu and Harvansh mixed poison in eatables for the birds that were allegedly affecting their bee farm, the police said. District Forest Officer Ashok Kumar said 70 Indian rollers (Coracias benghalensis) died and six were found unconscious in a field in Myaun.

The birds started dying on Tuesday. The carcasses have been sent for post-mortem at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly, he said.

An FIR has been registered against Bablu and Harvansh under provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act on the basis of a complaint lodged by the forest department at Alapur police station.