Srinagar: Even as a blanket ban is in place, the people in several villages of north Kashmir where there are wetlands hunt migratory birds by employing an old tool called snarl.
The wetlands in Kashmir villages are witness to the poaching of migratory birds but the practice in several villages in north Kashmir is somehow different as a kind of thread (snarl) is placed in the water to catch birds alive.
The snarl is made up of thread using knots on pulling it tights and the snarl is transparent decoy a man can hardly see with naked eyes. The thread of snarl is attached with wooden thorns and placed in water to catch birds .A snarl can cover more than 30 feet of area. During rainy days the practice gains pace in villages in and around wetlands.
Due to continues raining the huge water is lodged in wetlands which attracts more and more flying birds and on their landing people catch them, a local resident from Quazibad village of Kupwara said. At least 3 to 5 migratory birds are caught everyday during rains.
The practice is common in villages of Kralgund, Bitcherwara, Ganapora where number of people try to catch birds alive by placing snarls. An old man from Kralgund said snarl is 100-year-old technique to catch migratory birds and even it’s used in dry fields to catch other migratory birds.
There is however no official check on the practice and people are doing it without any fear of getting caught.
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