Farm owner booked for 'poisoning' 15 peacocks

TIRUPUR: A farm owner has been booked for allegedly poisoning at least 15 peacocks to death in Udumalpet. According to forest officials, the man was on the run.
Carcasses of 15 peacocks were found close to his farm at Palawadi village near the reserve forests in Udumalpet on Saturday evening.
Forest officials suspect that the farm owner, identified as Vijayasekaran, 42, of Palawadi, deliberately placed grains mixed with poison to kill the peacocks as they used to destroy the crops.The relatives of the farmer, however, claimed that he had only sprayed pesticides in the farm.
Scores of peacocks, forest officials said, live along the fringes of Udumalpet forest range and they often venture into farmlands to feed on the crops.
On Saturday, a few of the birds were seen in the maize field of Vijayasekaran. In the evening, the birds were found dead. The villagers immediately alerted the forest personnel, who in turn informed senior district forest officials. A team headed by Udumalpet ranger Mariappan visited the spot and recovered the carcasses.
While forest officials suspect it to be a case of poisoning, farmers in the village denied the charge. The farmers said freshly-sprayed pesticides were harmful and birds would die instantly if they were to eat crops sprayed with pesticides.
"Farmers said they cannot be held responsible for the death of peacocks, as it happened because they consumed crops sprayed with pesticides. We have sent the viscera samples to clinical analysis to find out whether they had consumed pesticide or were poisoned," said a forest officer.
Villagers told the forest officials that it was unfair to initiate action against the absconding farm owner for the death of the peacocks, especially when the peacocks have been eating away their produce.
They also urged the forest department to take measures to prevent peacocks from entering their farms.
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