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Wildbuzz | Hunting the Kashmir ‘untouchables’
The natural wetlands of Hokersar, Haigam and Wullar would resound with gunfire as the shikaris swung ultra-light and super-expensive English shotguns, such as the Purdeys, Churchills and Holland & Holland, at mallards, glistening an iridescent green-blue in neck and tail feathers curling coyly like the Maharaja’s moustaches
In the era before militancy and terrorism turned the paradise of Kashmir into colonies of young men’s graves and departing coffins of soldiers, the Indian “shikar” elite would fly to the fabled vale to legally shoot duck, chukor and black bear. The shikar expeditions were facilitated and arranged by wealthy houseboat owners of the Dal/Nigeen lakes and their clients included the diplomatic corps (in particular, the US Embassy), former princes, politicians and sundry VVIPs.
The natural wetlands of Hokersar, Haigam and Wullar would resound with gunfire as the shikaris swung ultra-light and super-expensive English shotguns, such as the Purdeys, Churchills and Holland & Holland, at mallards, glistening an iridescent green-blue in neck and tail feathers curling coyly like the Maharaja’s moustaches! The mallard feathers were later fashioned as “my lady’s earrings”. As smoke wisped away from colourful shotgun shells into the frosty Kashmir air, the skies over the famed wetlands would be full of feathers like drifting parachutes. The dislodged feathers trailed afar the falling ducks, which fell in the waters quickly with a dull thud.
Out of sync with the wildlife laws governing the rest of the country, Jammu and Kashmir exercised the power to grant special hunting licences, with a bag limit of 20 for each gun, under its own separate laws. As late as December 1997, the state had issued special licences for the controversial Pataudi duck shoot at the Hokersar wetland. An estimated 150 migratory birds had been downed at Hokersar over two days by the late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and his guests, who included members of erstwhile princely families and one hunter from the Delhi diplomatic corps.
Having got acclimatised to the tradition of winter shooting of migratory waterfowl and enjoying clout in the administration due to the patronage and linkages with pan-Indian VVIP shikaris, a section of the houseboat owners and shikar tourism operators never really accepted the ban on recreational hunting after the state’s separate wildlife laws enacted under the J&K Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978, were finally amended in 2002 on the lines of the National Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Last Sunday, four of these gunmen from Srinagar were caught on CCTV surveillance cameras at the Wullar lake, a Ramsar site. The photos and videos were given wide publicity by the Wullar Conservation and Management Authority. Coupled with public feedback and inputs from sources within the poaching cliques, the Department of Wildlife Protection launched a series of early morning raids in Srinagar on Tuesday, a time when, ironically enough, duck and geese hunters wait in the bulrushes by the sprawling wetlands and rivers to launch barrages of lead pellets at skeins returning from nocturnal feeding in agrarian fields and smaller water bodies.
“The Srinagar police was cooperative and cordial when we approached them for assistance in raiding and nabbing the poachers. We were able to arrest one of the four (Farooq A Boktoo) from his home in Habak and recovered a shotgun. We also recovered 12 duck decoys, which are used to lure the wild birds to the point where the poachers are hiding. The other suspects, Hamid Fayaz Wangnoo, Farooq A Wangnoo, Ashaq A Dar and Zahoor A Dar, went absconding but presented themselves for investigations before me on Friday,” Altaf Hussain Dentoo, ACF/wildlife warden wetlands, Kashmir, told this writer.
“The crackdown on the poachers is unprecedented. It is a historic step to safeguard Kashmir’s migratory guests,” regional willdife warden, Kashmir, Tawheed A Deva, told this writer.
Why so? “These poachers thought themselves to be ‘untouchables’, they believed they were immune to law enforcement. They are associated with the houseboat and tourism sector. The department is pursuing a policy of deterrence to ensure that poachers dare not indulge in such acts in the future. It is better that poaching is prevented rather than such acts happening and we then endeavour to cure the problem by nabbing the poachers and prosecuting them. We have also communicated to the district administrations/police to get gun owners to deposit their licensed firearms before the commencement of the migratory bird season,” explained Dentoo.
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