Thirteen vultures of an endangered species have died in Moulvibazar after eating a dead goat laced with poison. Several foxes, dogs and cats also died.

Local people said foxes had become a growing nuisance in the area for several days and had eaten many goats. Five or six days earlier, someone put poison on a dead goat as bait to kill foxes in the Burikona field of Barakapan village in Ekatuna union of Sadar upazila. The vultures and other animals died after eating the poison.

When the matter became known on Thursday (23 March), people from the relevant department went to the area.

They said the identities of those who did such a cruel thing were not yet known. "But we are investigating the incident. It is initially thought that it happened because poison was used to kill foxes. We have recovered 10 dead vultures from the spot and sent them to the Sylhet lab for tests. Three more dead vultures are here," they said.

At noon on Thursday (23 March), three dead vultures, two foxes, two dogs and a cat were seen lying scattered in the Burikona field of Barakapan village, where they had been for several days. Three bottles of a pesticide called Semcap lay beside the dead vultures.

Salam, a madrasa student in the area, told Jagonews that foxes had become a bigger nuisance in the area recently. "There was a dead goat in the field. The vultures, foxes and dogs that came to eat it died," he said.

Shyamal Kumar Mitra, assistant conservator of forests, Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, Moulvibazar, told Jagonews: "From talking to local people, we think the 13 vultures died because of poisoning. We will be more certain when the report comes from Sylhet. Visiting the spot made it clear that someone had put poison on the dead goat, and the vultures and other animals died after eating it."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.