Kolkata: The state Forest department on Monday incinerated 62 antlers of spotted deer at Barjora in Bankura that were collected for the last 7-8 years. The operation was done through a private incinerator as per provisions of Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972 in presence of district magistrate, police superintendent, the divisional forest officers of the district under the chairmanship of S Kulandaivel, Chief Conservator of Forest (Central circle).
There are a large number of deer in forests in Bankura, including the deer park at Banpukhuria near Mukutmanipur. The antlers get detached particularly during fighting between deer which is not an uncommon phenomenon in forests. The patrolling team of the department has been collecting these antlers and has assembled them under the custody of Bankura South Division.
As per CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), it is illegal to use or sell animal body parts and so they need to be destroyed after a considerable period of time. The antlers were taken to a private incinerator under tight security and all of them were incinerated at an extremely high temperature.
“This move is aimed at protecting animals from the threats of international trade,” a senior official of the state Forest department said.
In December last year, the Forest division of Bankura district destroyed 57 elephant tusks that were under their safe custody for almost a decade. The tusks of the pachyderms were charred in an electric furnace under strong surveillance in the same manner at Barjora.