Villagers panic after 18 peacocks found dead

PRAYAGRAJ, June 3 (HS): In a shocking incident, 16 peacocks were found dead in Anwla orchard of Baijalpur village in Sadar area of Pratapgarh district on Wednesday. Moreover, two more peacocks were found dead on Thursday, which takes the death toll to 18. The administration and Forest Department has been stirred by the deaths of so many peacocks. A post-mortem was conducted & birds were buried. Villagers claim that birds are being given poisonous feed by miscreants, who hunt them for their meat. The matter is being probed. Officials of the department of animal husbandry suspected that the peacock might have been dead due to indigestion. The forest officials were also informed and the samples have been sent for testing. Death of the birds triggered scare among the nearby villagers.

After the news spread like wildfire, hundreds of people from Baijalpur village and other areas thronged the orchard to catch a glimpse of the dead peacocks.

The post-mortem of the first peacock found dead on Wednesday morning has been carried out, according to DFO Varun Kumar Singh. According to the report, pneumonia was the cause of death. “There is no reason to panic and give sway to churning rumour mills. However, we can arrive to any conclusion and reveal further details only after post-mortem examinations on the remaining 17 peacocks discovered in the same orchard on Wednesday late night and Thursday morning. It’s possible that these peacocks died of pneumonia as well. The exact cause of death will be revealed after the investigation,” he claimed while speaking to HS.