Tobacco sachet trail leads sniffer dog to three wildlife poachers in Mancherial

A sniffer dog helped Forest Department officials arrest three alleged poachers in Mancherial after they reportedly hunted a sambar deer using trained stray dogs. The suspects were traced through a tobacco sachet left at the scene and remanded to judicial custody.

Mancherial: In a perfect example of poetic justice being meted out, a sniffer dog managed to help the forest officials nab three poachers, who used their own dogs to hunt a sambar deer in Kasipet mandal. The three poachers had trained dogs to hunt wild animals and kill them after giving them a chase.

Forest officials said that Pendram Vijay, Sidam Pavan and Sedmaki Lachu from Ippalaguda hamlet under Gatraopalli village were arrested for their involvement in hunting of the wild animal. They were produced before a court and sent to a 14-day- judicial remand. The three accused persons were detected by a sniffer dog used by the forest department’s Jannaram division.

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On being interrogated, the three confessed to poaching the animal using stray dogs in the forests of Devapur beat on Friday. They admitted to hunting the wildlife for consumption of meat. They said that they trained the dogs to kill the animals in the forest. They disclosed that they had been committing the offence for quite a long time.

Forest officials said that the sniffer managed to catch the hunters with the help of the smell of a tobacco sachet left by them at the scene of the offence. They warned of stringent action against those who hunt wildlife under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. They urged the public to become partners in controlling the menace by sharing information about hunters.