Forest personnel have busted a deer poaching racket by arresting three poachers from dense forest area of Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary in Kendrapara district.
Acting on a tipoff, forest officials busted the racket while making a seizure of 10 kg venison, hides, nylon trap nets besides arrows from the possession of the arrested accused .
Acting on specific information that poachers had hunted down a spotted deer in the forest areas within the park, the wildlife offence was cracked, said forest officials. The accused persons booked under sections-9, 27, 29 and 35 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 were being forwarded to court.
The gang was actively indulged in wildlife poaching activity in recent past. They were adept in the poaching of wild boar and deer species.
The poachers often trap the mute animals by spreading nylon ropes in the mangrove forest and its nearby areas and kill the deer. Some poachers also use trained dogs to kill the spotted deer, said sources.The sanctuary which is an ecological sensitive zone is home to over 5,000 spotted deer species.