36 Himalayan vultures found poisoned to death in Assam

In a shocking incident, 36 Himalayan vultures were found poisoned to death in Assam's Sivsagar district even as the condition of seven others of the rare species which were rescued by some wildlife lovers are also deteriorating, an official said on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday when some locals spotted several Himalayan vultures lying in the paddy fields, a local forest officer said adding that the condition of seven others which were rescued was deteriorating.

Locals termed the incident as a result of some people's greed for bird meat. "Some individual have dumped the poisoned body of a goat in the paddy field to be used as a bait to catch birds. The goat was killed after being bitten by a dog. So they used the dead goat as bait to catch birds," a local man said adding that the vultures ate the goat and subsequently got poisoned.

"The forest officials in Sivsagar district are not doing anything to protect the vultures and other wildlife. This is not an isolated incident. Last month also some locals have killed over 40 exotic birds for its meat by using poisoned dead pets as bait," said a local.

--IANS

ah/ahm/vd