Two men were arrested early on Sunday for allegedly trapping birds using fishing nets cast over a water body at Ballavpur in North 24-Parganas on the outskirts of the city.
A team of foresters from the Bongaon range revealed that bird meat was being allegedly sold by the men who were trapping them using nets cast over the water body that is used for pisciculture.
The team went near the lake and caught Arun Barik and Sanjay Barik while they were picking out trapped birds from the nets.
The team rescued a Grey Headed Lapwing Live Temminck’s Stint and a couple of common mynas and recovered the carcasses of four mynas, a Common Snipe and an Indian Pond Heron
All the birds are protected under Schedule ll of the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2022.
The foresters also recovered some cooked bird meat from the men that they were selling to residents of the area.
A forest department official said they were getting reports of such trapping of birds from across the North 24-Parganas district, including from Rajarhat and New Town
“We are keeping a close watch. This happens every year during winter when birds come in to roost at these water bodies,” the official added.
The team has also seized around 2,000 feet of nylon net from them.