Amid Diwali, Forest Officials Are Busy Protecting Owls & Turtles Who Are Used For Black Magic
As the nation is immersed in Diwali festivities Forest Departments across the country are keeping vigil to prevent poaching of wildlife.
That is because creatures like owls and turtles are in high demand during this time of the year for black magic purposes.
Among these, owls are the most sought-after ones and are used in rituals in which they are sacrifice, in the hope of it bringing prosperity, power and long life among others.
The owl is one of the vehicles of the goddess Lakshmi, and in certain occult practices, a ritual sacrifice of owls is done to appease the goddess.
Similarly, turtles are used as exotic pets and as it is one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu, it is also believed to bring good luck and fortune.
In Uttarakhand, the forest department sounded a red alert earlier this week at the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) and has cancelled the holidays of its field staff till November 15 and increased patrolling at the reserve, especially at night.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Uttarakhand is one of the hotspots of illegal owl trade along with Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
Even UP has a history of poaching
In Uttar Pradesh also, the authorities have been keeping a strict vigil on poachers who become active during Diwali and catch owl and tortoise.
According to Dr. Satish Pande, director of Ela Foundation, which works towards conservation and protection of birds 17,000 owls were killed in 2018 in India, under the guise of black magic.
Owls, Sand Boas most poached creatures
Owls along with Sand Boas are among the most poached creatures in India, for the purpose of black magic.
Though there are several species of owls, Spotted Owlet, Barn Owl, Rock Eagle Owl, Jungle Owlet, Collared Scops Owl, Brown Fish Owl, Dusky Eagle Owl, Mottled Wood Owl, Asian Barred Owlet, Collared Owlet, Brown Wood Owl, Oriental Scops Owl and Eastern Grass Owl are among those poached. Among the most widely traded species were Spotted Owlet, Barn Owl and Rock Eagle Owl.
According to experts, owls, classified under least concern species in the IUCN list, need urgent protection from anti-social elements.
Forest owlet species are also listed under the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) agreement.?
The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, protects all owl species in India and makes their capture and trade illegal.
