Fwd: Illegal sale of meat of wildBirds in Punjab in name of Japnese Quails

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Sandeep kumar jain <jeevdaya wrote:16 May 2005 03:30:41

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Illegal sale of meat of wildBirds in Punjab in name of Japnese Quails

 

 

 

Sale of quail meat, poaching on

Wildlife officials don’t care two hoots

Varinder Singh

Tribune News Service

 

Jalandhar, May 15

It may come as a rude shock to wildlife lovers. Not only Japanese quails are

being poached and their meat sold illegally in northern part of the country on a

large scale, but the meat of wild partridge is also allegedly being passed of as

the meat of Japanese quail at a large number of eateries and meat shops.

 

What is encouraging poaching and subsequent open sale of meat of Japanese quail

is lack of general awareness among authorities about status of the bird, which,

in fact, is a protected bird species under Schedule IV of the Wildlife

Protection Act, 1972.

 

Lack of awareness is also being widely exploited by certain vested interests who

were trading in the Japanese Quail meat openly after securing no objection

certificates (NOCs) from the Punjab Wildlife Authorities, which, incidentally,

is illegal and a violation of the Wildlife Prevention Act 1972 (amended in

2003).

 

Investigations have revealed that poachers, who are active in hunting of wild

partridges in and around Bathinda, Abohar and in neighbouring Rajasthan, are

also circumventing law and are avoiding any action by the wildlife authorities

with the help of NOCs.

 

" They avoid detection and subsequent action by passing meat of black and brown

partridge as the meat of Japanese quail, for which they usually have a ready

explanation that the Japanese quail is allowed to be killed if one is equipped

with the NOCs, " said Dr Sandip Jain, a Ludhiana-based wildlife lover.

 

Official sources point out that not only the poaching and killing is prohibited,

but, since Japanese quail is a bird protected under the Wildlife Protection Act,

its captive breeding and sale without a licence granted under Section 48 of the

Act is also illegal.

 

But, ironically, the bird is being widely subjected to captive breeding not only

by private poultry farms but also by some universities and government-run

poultry organisations in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

 

What is more stunning is that the meat of Japanese quail (and sometimes meat of

partridges under garb of Japanese quail) is easily available in Ludhiana,

Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and eateries and meat shops are selling it without having

proper licences from the Chief Wildlife Warden, Punjab.

 

What makes the scene more interesting was that despite open trading of Japanese

quail in Punjab, not a single case has been detected in the state so far.

 

The Ministry of Environment and Forests, it is learnt, has been receiving a

number of representations from several organisations and from the Ministry of

Agriculture for exempting quail-farming from the purview of Wildlife

(Protection) Act, 1972, but such requests have repeatedly been turned down on

the ground that Japanese Quail (Coturnix Coturnix Japanica) is found in the wild

in the North-East.

 

But the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in consultation with the Department

of Animal Husbandry, has decided to delegate the power of issuing licences for

Japanese Quail hatcheries to officers not below the rank of Assistant Livestock

Officers and officers of state animal husbandry departments not below the rank

of veterinary assistant surgeons.

www.tribuneindia.com2005/2005/20050516/Punjab.htm#

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr.Sandeep K.Jain

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