Over 200 crows found dead near Ramanathapuram

Officials and locals suspect wilful poisoning to be the cause of their death

More than 200 crows, which helped in keeping the environment clean by disposing of dead animals and garbage to some extent, were found dead in Uchipuli near here on Tuesday. The officials in the departments of forest and animal husbandry suspect ‘wilful poisoning’ of the birds.

People were shocked as the birds were found dead on Ramanathapuram- Rameswaram National Highway, rooftops, slabs and in front of the bus stop, and on police station and school premises.

Drivers of some of the autorickshaws stationed near the bus stop said they saw some crows dropping dead on Monday night, and they were shocked to see many more birds dead on Tuesday.

While some of the birds found dead in front of Uchipuli police station were buried, a bunch of dead birds were run over by speeding vehicles on the road, the local people said.

As these birds, which have close association with human settlements, do not figure in the list of protected birds under the Wildlife Protection Act, forest department has not taken any action.

T. Mohan, Joint Director of Animal Husbandry Department, however, said the department would do the post-mortem and send the samples to forensic department to ascertain the cause of the death, though wilful poisoning was suspected.

The local people said the birds which used to perch on a banyan tree near a bakery at night dirtied vehicles parked under the tree with droppings. As the birds turned a menace for vehicle users, some one might have poisoned them, they said.

Though the police said they could not act in the absence of any complaint, Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan said Uchipuli police would be asked to enquire into the incident.