IMPHAL: The Manipur government has imposed a prohibition on the hunting, capture, killing, and trading of Amur falcons, a migratory bird species, in the Tamenglong district and its surrounding areas with immediate effect.
The Tamenglong District Magistrate has ordered all residents to hand over their air guns to local village authorities.
The village authorities will retain the airguns until the end of November or till the falcons have completed their migration.
The authorities have issued a stern warning that anyone found violating these orders will face legal consequences.
The Amur falcons, locally known as ‘Akhoipuina’ or ‘Kahoipuina,’ land in Manipur, mostly in the Tamenglong district and neighbouring Nagaland in mid-October as part of its annual routine migration, from their breeding grounds in South Eastern Siberia and Northern China.
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These birds are crucial to the local ecosystem. After roosting for about a month in the state, the raptors fly towards the Southern and Eastern parts of Africa and flock for a short time before moving towards their breeding grounds.
Amur falcons are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and included under Schedule IV.
The radio-tagging programme of Amur Falcon in Manipur’s Tamenglong was undertaken in two phases, first in 2018 and then in 2019, to conserve wildlife and also study the route of these long-distance migratory birds and the environmental patterns along the route as India is a signatory to an international agreement on the conservation of migratory birds of prey.
