Eight held in Gujarat for hunting wild animals

The Gujarat forest department has arrested eight persons in Junagadh district for allegedly hunting wild animals, and recovered an injured monitor lizard and a dead jackal from their possession, an official said on Sunday.

The accused were held by the Junagadh forest officials from Vadala village in Manavadar taluka on Wednesday, the official said.

"The eight accused were caught during patrolling by a forest team on July 15. A local court remanded them in the forest department custody for two days and subsequently in a jail," Range Forest Officer of Manavadar, C G Dafada, said.

According to the official, monitor lizards and jackals are listed in Schedule 1 and 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act respectively.

The accused have been booked under various subsections of section 2 of the Act, he said.

"Seven of the accused are locals of Manavadar, while one is from Chorwad village in the district. During their interrogation, they said they were hunting the animals for consumption," Dafada said.

The equipment used for hunting was also recovered from them, he said.