Bagerhat Correspondent :
The illegal hunting of deer in the Eastern Sundarbans continues unabated, as forest officials recover hundreds of traps in repeated operations – yet fail to apprehend the poachers behind them.
In the latest raid on Monday (June 16), forest officials recovered more than 600 deer snares and 16 banned crab-fishing rods from the Kokilmoni patrol outpost and Teearchar area of the Eastern Sundarbans. However, no arrests were made.
Md. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Eastern Sundarbans, confirmed the seizure and said the raid was part of a secret operation by foot patrol teams.
“The poachers fled the area after receiving advance information about our patrols. Many of the traps had been buried underground to avoid detection,” he said. The seized equipment is now being held at the Kokilmoni outpost.
Earlier, on June 13, forest guards recovered 135 more traps in the Dhangmari Forest Station area under the Chandpai Forest Range. Of these, 82 traps were seized from canals near Hula Bharani, and 53 from the Suryajmukhi Canal. The traps were later destroyed by burning.
Despite these repeated operations, the forest department has been unable to apprehend the perpetrators, raising questions about the effectiveness of its current enforcement strategies. Locals claim that a well-organized poaching gang has long operated in the forest and often escapes with prior knowledge of raids.
Environmentalists have expressed serious concern, warning that unabated deer poaching threatens the fragile biodiversity of the Sundarbans. They stress the urgent need for not only stronger law enforcement but also greater community participation and technology-based surveillance.
DFO Rezaul Karim Chowdhury added:
“Our officers and staff are working relentlessly to curb forest crimes. We hope that with increased vigilance and strict measures, we will be able to bring these crimes under control.”
