5 poachers held with carcasses of porcupine, rabbit in Pollachi

Acting on a tip-off, a team of Forest department staff intensified patrol at Mangarai forest area near Ottakaradu in Anaimalai when they came across five suspects and nabbed them.

One of the staffers in plainclothes posed himself as a buyer of porcupine meat.

“The myth prevails that consuming porcupine meat cures knee and joint pains. So our staffer asked for its meat [from the accused], claiming that his mother suffered from acute knee pain. Immediately the poachers showed him the meat in their possession,” said an official.Other Forest officials then soon rounded up the culprits and took them into custody.

The five people accused of poaching have been identified as R Manikandan (31), M Dhinakaraj, (32), T Kamatchi Sundaram (32), A Selvakumar (31) and T Palanisamy (47)-all hailing from Pollachi.

The accused reportedly recorded voice of rabbits to lure the animal and poach in the forest cover. “Either they consumed the rabbit meat or sold them to some of their regular clients. They usually ventured into the forests during night. The five men were into hunting for a while and made a good buck out of it,” said the official.

The forest department also seized two bikes, a net, torch and other equipment from the accused. An investigation is on to identify their clients and if the hunters also supplied rabbit meat to hotels.