Alleged wildlife offence: CCYO rejects PCCF’s account

DIMAPUR, OCT 7 (NPN): Centre Chakhesang Youth Organization (CCYO) has rejected PCCF & HoFF Vedpal Singh’s account of the detention of Vezhoto Hesuh and alleged that the forest department was attempting to create a “false narrative”.
In a statement issued in response to Singh’s remarks during Wildlife Week at Mokokchung on October 6, CCYO said the birds in question had been rescued by villagers after being found injured or helpless and were not captured from the wild for rearing.
It claimed that an owl found by a minor boy from Porba village near a footpath leading to the fields had been rescued on a rainy day after it was found wet, shivering and apparently helpless. CCYO said the bird was cared for and later returned to the jungle.
Regarding the Great Barbet, CCYO said it had been found injured by another minor boy while returning from the fields and was taken home after it was unable to fly. It claimed the bird was cared for for several years and said such practices of caring for rescued or injured birds and animals formed part of the community’s customary relationship with nature. CCYO also questioned the department’s handling of the Great Barbet after it was seized from Porba, claiming the bird was healthy when taken into custody but was returned in a weakened condition and required further care from villagers before it could return to the jungle.
It further questioned the basis for Vezhoto’s detention, asking why he was detained if the birds had been rescued and cared for by villagers rather than removed from their natural habitat by him.CCYO also alleged that Vezhoto had been pressured into stating that he had reared the bird and sought clarification from PCCF & HoFF on whether any such statement had been obtained under pressure or coercion.
CCYO also questioned what it described as differing standards of wildlife enforcement, asking whether the same scrutiny was applied to influential people, VIPs and politicians allegedly keeping wild animals and birds in private premises.
It also questioned whether Wildlife Week programme at Mokokchung was being used to promote conservation awareness or to justify Vezhoto’s detention, alleging that the department had repeated a one-sided account instead of addressing concerns surrounding the case. CCYO said wildlife conservation should not come at the expense of local communities or their customary relationship with nature. It called upon PCCF & HoFF to clarify questions raised by the organisation and refrain from what it described as misleading statements concerning Vezhoto and Porba people.