Hunting festival remains 'bloodless'

The annual hunting festival of the tribal community was observed in a 'bloodless and symbolic' manner in and around Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary for the third consecutive year, officials said on Tuesday.

An awareness campaign launched by the forest department to observe the hunting festival in a symbolic manner seemed to have paid dividend as it remained bloodless for the third consecutive year, Divisional Forest Officer (Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary), V Bhaskaran said here. The hunting festival 'Bishu Parv' or 'Sendra' was observed in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary on Monday.

The forest department has set up check posts at all entry points to prevent hunters from entering the sanctuary with arms to kill the animals.

However, majority of the tribals were now convinced and agreed to observe the festival without harming animals, Bhaskaran said.

Asked about reports published in section of the media with photographs of hunted animals like wild boar and peacock during the festival yesterday, Bhaskaran insisted that the festival was bloodless.

"We did not leave any space for the hunters to kill animals with deployment of adequate force, about half a dozen DFOs and over 200 of our daily wagers, to guard entry points to ensure no one could enter with arms," the DFO said.

However, he said, if the media could provide exact information of the location and the time of killing, action would be taken against persons involved in hunting animals.

Meanwhile, a tribal organization "Adivasi Sengel Abhiyan" (ASA) demanded action against those involved in the killing of innocent animals.