Forest Department staff on Sunday arrested seven persons in connection with three wildlife offences.
In the first case, the staff attached to Mettupalayam range nabbed five persons who procured the meat of a sambar deer, carcass of which they found as leftover prey of a carnivore in Nellithurai reserve forest area. D. Krishnan (43) and P. Selvaraj (49) from Nellithurai village procured around 5 kg meat from the leftover carcass and took to their homes.
Later, they shared the venison to three relatives namely K. Ramasamy (43), R. Selvam (45) and Thangamuthu Chinnamani (42), also hailing from the same village. The Department slapped a fine of ₹ 10,000 on each person for the offence. The same team led by forest range officer S. Selvaraj also found that Selvam procured the bark of a tree from forest, a raw material used for making arrack, illegally. A fine of ₹ 10,000 was slapped on him for the offence.
In another case, the Forest Department apprehended two persons who trapped heron from a place at Somaiyampalayam within the limits of Coimbatore forest range. A fine of ₹2,000 was imposed on B. Selvam (24) and K. Chakrapani (38), both belonging to a nomadic group.
