Amur Falcon massacre at Tamenglong
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Jimmy Pamei
Tamenglong, November 01 2014 :
Come October, the migrating Amur falcon comes back to Tamenglong and contiguous areas including Assam and Nagaland.
These birds are slaughtered in thousands by hunters at Tamenglong too.
In the olden days catapults were the means of killing them while they are flying or perching.
But with the advent of air-gun the number of killing increased exponentially.
Though Nagaland has some form of prohibition and warning against the killing of these birds, Manipur state has done virtually nothing in this regard.
Amur falcon came from eastern Siberia near the North East China area.
On their way of migration to East Africa, they arrived at our North Eastern states of Nagaland, Manipur and parts of Assam.
They sojourned here for at least a month till November every year before flying over the Central Indian plain and Arabian Sea to finally arrive at the Eastern African countries.
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Last year some hunters claimed to have found chips tied to one this bird.
But no report came to any authority to verify the purpose of the chips.
Worse there is no authority or organisation that is so concerned about these birds that are being hunted for their meat.
Last year the market value of this bird is about Rs.50/- for a live one.
The killed and dried ones are also sold at different values.
It is a well-accepted knowledge that these birds are 'not so tasty as food' .
When these birds arrive in October, they are so thin that their bones pierce the mouth.
And when they are fattened after a month of feeding, they become too fatty that they exude unpleasant oils.
But the hunters continue to kill them as a sort of sport or to sell them at the bazaar.
Some concerned writers have expressed their views to prevent the wanton killing of these migratory birds, yet some hunters are still hunting them till today.
Though these birds arrive at Eastern countries of Africa their contact with the deadly diseases of Ebola cannot be ruled out totally.
Because, strains of these viruses may also have been passed on since previous years to the other parts of Africa from their western countries through animals and birds, including the Amur falcon.
For this reason the state government, especially the Departments of Forest and Environment (Ecology and Environment & Forest); Medical, Health and Family Welfare; Public Health Engineering Department; Tourism; Veterinary and Animal Husbandry) have role to study the situation and take up necessary action to protect and safeguard the birds, the people and the ecosystem as a whole.