The Dhaka Times Desk The sight of an illusionary deer caught in a trap will make anyone's heart flutter. But the worst incidents of wildlife hunting are happening in the mountains!
Such news in the news media shakes the sensible people. The incident happened when a person named Mohammad Imtiaz went to Remakri market in Thanchi upazila. While eating, he saw that in the hotels built around the river banks, dried pieces of meat were hung in bamboo bowls. Each piece of meat costs 30 rupees.
Mohammad Imtiaz said, 'We went to Nafakhum. I saw deer meat being sold in at least 10 places starting from Tindu and east of Remakri and Nafakhum. Basically, for tourists in these areas, such a horrible festival of killing forest animals is going on.'
Wildlife hunting is integral to the life and culture of the hill dwellers of Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban, three districts of the Greater Chittagong Hill Tracts. Hunting became one of their main means of food supply due to inaccessible communication system, unfavorable environment and no alternative means of carnivore. Today the situation is completely different. Wildlife populations are also declining due to indiscriminate cutting of trees, especially burning of forests due to unplanned zooming, poaching and population growth.
Basically, the practice of hunting is associated with the jum farming cycle of the tribals. At the beginning of the year, between January and April, the Jumias set fire to clear the trees, starting with hill weeds for cultivation. As soon as the rains start in May, the sowing of the crop starts. Its service lasts throughout the monsoon season. At this time the Jumias moved to the Joom house on the slopes of the hill with their family.
Then hunting was organized by trapping method. Different tribal communities also have special methods of hunting. Eg: Dong, Khaglang, precheck system of Murong community is notable here.
Basically, various types of animals and birds including deer and pigs are caught in Jum field. However, the main hunting season begins after harvesting in winter. During this period Maya deer is hunted extensively.
In addition to the primitive method, the people of those regions of Chittagong Hill Tracts hunted with self-made pile guns. The investigation found that these gun makers manufacture and supply guns as per the demand. The cost is only a few thousand rupees. The supply of gunpowder used for these guns comes from the match factory at Satkania, Lohagarh. In addition to locally made guns, there is a black market for Myanmar-made airguns in Ruma-Thanchi.
It is known that the non-governmental organization Creative Conservation Alliance has been conducting research in 28 neighborhoods in Bandarban for a long time. They say that each family consumes an average of 3 kg of wild animal meat per year. Mainly because there was no alternative to non-vegetables, the hill people could not give up hunting completely. Not only wild animals but jhiri, crabs and turtles in mountain canals are among their food. But the festival of wildlife hunting does not stop at anything.
This is how the worst incidents of wildlife poaching are going on in the mountains day after day. Animal resources of our country are disappearing. But how long will it last like this?
A demand has been made to stop hunting by holding regular awareness meetings with the people of different remote villages.
Despite these incidents, many species listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) still survive in the mountainous regions of the country. If hunting is not stopped, the green forests of our Chittagong Hill Tracts will become lifeless in the next few years. That can never be desired by anyone.
Information: Courtesy of http://www.banglanews24.com.
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