Deer poaching alarms Sundarbans
The arrest of 377 people in forest crime cases in the eastern Sundarbans over the past year has exposed not only a persistent poaching problem, but also a deeper illegal economy built around venison, forest access and weak local livelihoods.
According to the Forest Department, forest guards conducted 474 drives in the Sharankhola and Chandpai ranges under the Eastern Sundarbans Forest Division from May 2025 to April 2026.
During the period, 241 cases were filed, 396 people were accused, and 377 were arrested and sent to jail through court. Of them, 84 later secured bail, while the rest remained in Bagerhat jail, forest office sources said.
The drives led to the seizure of 1,14,553 feet of deer-trapping nets spread across around 35 kilometres of forest areas. Forest officials also seized venison, trawlers and boats, illegal crab-catching traps, fishing nets, poisoned fish, poison used for fishing, dried shrimp caught using poison, and illegally harvested crabs, according to a report published in BSS.
Speaking to The New Nation, Sundarbans West Forest Division Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) AZM Hasanur Rahman said that operations are facing challenges due to a shortage of manpower and water transport.
“Although the Forest Department regularly submits requests to the ministry for the necessary personnel and equipment, sufficient allocations are not being provided.”
He said, “Nevertheless, the department’s drives and operations are continuing.”
He further said, We have declared Prizes Taka 2 thousand each dor giving information regarding piachers.
He said adding that the forest Division has increased Intelligence surveillance.
While the official figures suggest stronger enforcement, conservationists say the numbers also indicate the scale of organised forest crime in the world’s largest mangrove forest.
The Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage site and part of a 10,000-square-kilometre mangrove landscape, around 60 percent of which lies in Bangladesh. UNESCO identifies illegal hunting and trapping as threats to the forest’s ecological integrity.
The issue is especially sensitive because spotted deer are the main prey of the Royal Bengal tiger. The latest tiger census found 125 tigers in the Bangladesh Sundarbans in 2024, up from 114 in 2018 and 106 in 2014. Wildlife experts have warned that tiger conservation depends heavily on protecting habitat and maintaining a stable deer population.
The deer population has shown recovery over the past two decades. A survey conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in December 2023 estimated the deer population in the Sundarbans at 1,36,604, up from 83,000 in 2004. But forest officials and environmentalists say poaching remains a serious threat despite the rise in numbers.
Forest-adjacent communities are often drawn into the illegal trade. Earlier information from forest sources indicated that people from areas including Koyra, Dakop and Paikgachha in Khulna, Shyamnagar in Satkhira, and Mongla and Sharankhola in Bagerhat are largely involved in such crimes. Local residents have alleged that more than 150 organised poaching groups remain active around the Sundarbans.
The Wildlife Conservation and Security Act, 2012 prohibits hunting of wild animals without licence or permit. The law also provides for community-based conservation and co-management, highlighting the need to involve local people in protecting forests and wildlife.
Forest officials say regular foot patrols deep inside remote forest areas have helped reduce crimes. Divisional Forest Officer of the Eastern Sundarbans Forest Division Md Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said forest crimes have declined compared with previous years, while venison seizure fell by 700 to 800 kilograms from the previous year.
The Eastern Forest Division has also prepared a list of 150 identified deer poachers and shared it with law enforcement and intelligence agencies for surveillance.
As the Forest Department intensifies patrols, the larger question is whether Bangladesh can move beyond arrests and seizures to dismantle the market that keeps deer poaching alive. Protecting deer means protecting the tiger’s food chain, the forest’s ecological balance and the long-term survival of one of Bangladesh’s most valuable natural shields.
