Forest officials swung into action on Saturday to nab persons who recently caught some bulbul birds and engaged them to fight with each other in Baruni Mela on Wednesday at Binjharpur.
“I directed the local forest officials on Saturday to investigate the matter and arrest the persons who were involved in the practice. It is illegal and unethical on the parts of some persons to catch the bulbul birds and engage them in fight,” said Cuttack DFO Sudrashan Behera. Binjharpur MlA and former Minister Pramila Mallick was present in the Mela while bulbul fight was on. We demanded action against Mallick, said Peoples For Animal (PFA) secretary Amulya Nayak.
But many locals criticized the move of the forest officials to take action against the persons who caught the birds. “Each day butchers kill hundreds of cattle in the State though the Government enacted Cow Slaughter Prevention Act to stop cow killing. The Government should stop cow slaughter first before thinking about the stopping of bird fight once in a year,” said Ranjan Das of Binjharapur.