Two fined Rs. 180,000 for killing protected barking deer

Colombo, June 9 (Daily Mirror) - A Nanu Oya court has imposed fines totaling Rs. 180,000 on two men arrested for killing and butchering a barking deer, a strictly protected species under Sri Lanka’s wildlife laws.

The suspects were arrested during a surprise raid conducted on June 5 in the Parakumpura area of Nanu Oya by officers of the Forest Conservation Department and the Hakgala Wildlife Sanctuary Protection Office, acting on intelligence received by forest officials in Nuwara Eliya.

During the operation, officers seized four kilograms of barking deer meat, the animal’s head and skin, and 30 wire snares allegedly used to trap wildlife.

The animal, identified as the Indian muntjac or barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), is listed as a strictly protected mammal under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance.

The suspects and the recovered items were produced before the Nuwara Eliya Magistrate’s Court on June 8, where the court imposed fines amounting to Rs. 180,000.

The raid was carried out by a team of Forest Conservation Department officers, including Wildlife Site Guard A.M.C. Madhuranga, Wildlife Site Assistant A.M.S.K. Aloka Bandara, Wildlife Regulator R. Dhanushka Halambage, Field Assistants V.M.S.S. Sri Sanjeewa and B. Ajith Santha, and Driver S.N.P. De Silva.