MARGAO
Around 73 frogs which were found in possession of the accused were later released in the fields by the forest personnel. Margao Forest Range Officer, Siddesh Gawde informed the media that the forest officials had intensified patrolling in the vulnerable areas of Paroda in Quepem and Fatorda late Wednesday night to keep the poachers at bay. “When the staff were on patrol at Paroda, they found two persons in a field poaching for frogs. A search of the bag revealed that they had caught around 13 frogs in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act,” he said, while adding that the father-son duo from Sarzora were later detained under the Act. When another forest team was patrolling around Chandrawado, Fatorda late Wednesday, they came across four persons in a field with a bag containing 50 frogs. “When we rushed towards them, two amongst the four persons made good their escape, while we arrested the remaining two,” Gawde said. Again, when the forest team was patrolling the Gudi area, they arrested one person, who had caught around 10 bull frogs in violation of the law. Replying to a question, RFO Gawde said the bull frogs are listed in scheduled four of the Wildlife Protection Act, adding that the Act prescribes three years punishment and fine for accused if found guilty. He said the forest teams constituted by the South Zone will intensify patrolling for the next few days as the monsoon is finally set to hit the State in the next two days.
