Kohima, April 30, 2020: The Nagaland government on April 30 advised the public not to consume wild meat because of the possible presence of the African swine fever in animals such as boars and civet cats.

The state government had earlier imposed a ban on the import of pig from the neighboring states in view of the outbreak of African Swine Fever in neighboring states.

The advisory from the Nagaland Home Department has further urged all deputy commissioners to bring this to the notice of all village councils.

Northeastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have witnessed rise in hunting, especially after the imposition of the nationwide lockdown to contain Covid-19.

It forced both the state governments to issue ‘warnings’ to those indulging in the illegal activity.

Several videos went viral on various social media platforms where people were seen flaunting their prey before feasting on them.

In Arunachal Pradesh, a group of people were seen roaming around with a full-grown king cobra which they ate later.

The local media believe the situation is rather grim. The Arunachal Times, one of the popular newspaper in the state, on April 20, reported that hunting has increased in the state and it has become ‘unmanageable’ by the forest department quoting some unnamed official from the department.

The report said that wildlife hunting is widely accepted in the state as it is tied to tribal rituals and cultural practices.

“We don’t have control over community forests, but now it has reached the areas under the forest department. The lockdown has come as a curse to the forests as many who habitually do not hunt are also out in the forests with sophisticated weapons,” a forest official was quoted in a report.

Similar incidents of hunting were also reported from Nagaland on April 19. Though Nagaland received accolades for its exemplary conservative initiatives for Amor Falcon birds, the recent incidents of hunting have drawn severe criticism.

In February this year, in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, Nagaland had issued an advisory asking people to refrain from activities like hunting, which, it said, increases the chances of contact of wild animals and wild animal products with humans.

Four of the suspects have already surrendered in Nagaland. Wildlife crime bureau in-charge in the state Tokaho Kinimi said that those responsible would be penalized under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. He also said that there was an increase in wildlife hunting activities due to the lockdown.

Wildlife conservation activist and founder of the Nagaland Wildlife Biodiversity Conservation Trust, Bano Haralu, termed it unfortunate and said there is a need for bringing some change in the Article 371 A to stop crimes against wildlife.

As per the Article 371 A, land and resources of the state belong to the people and the government has no direct control over them.

Haralu, who is hailed for adopting conservation initiatives for Amur Falcon birds in Nagaland also said that at the present day, hunting can never be a part of tradition.

Source: northeasttoday.in and thefederal.com