Can a Rs 1.2-lakh owl in Kerala ward off recession?

Barn owl, an endangered species, has come under increased threat in Kerala's Western Ghats, one of its natural habitats, with many recession-hit businessmen from some states seeking it for sacrifice in the belief that it will help them tide over the meltdown.

Many businessmen and traders in Maharashtra, Gujarat and northern states have offered upwards of Rs 1 lakh for a live barn owl as they believe that sacrificing the bird would fetch them prosperity in business, forest officials here said.

As a result, poachers have stepped up hunt for the bird, also known by vernacular names such as white owl, silver owl, demon owl, ghost owl and death owl.

The forest department recently foiled a bid by three poachers to hand over a barn owl to an agent for delivery to a buyer from the North. The trio was arrested from the local railway station on June 10 and the bird was rescued and sheltered at the century-old state Museum and Zoo here on a court order.

Forest Range Officer (Pattikad-Thrissur) Hari Krishnan Nair told PTI that the deal was struck through an internet advertisement, which helped police and forest officials bust the racket.

During interrogation, the three said that the price of the bird was fixed at Rs 1.2 lakh, Nair added.

Superintendent of the Museum and Zoo K Jayan said barn owl was in demand as its flesh and blood were used for such practices. He said the bird was also being smuggled into African and Gulf countries and its price in illegal dealings had gone up to lakhs.

According to members of the Forest Protection Programme Group of state-owned Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI, out of about three dozen commonly seen species of owl in Kerala, 11 species, especially those found in the Western Ghats, were being smuggled to various states in the North.

They fetch prices ranging between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh each.

KFRI sources said in the past the practice of using the blood and body parts of the owls for sacrifice rituals was in vogue in Northern India and tribal areas. However, recently the demand for the bird had gone up considerably.

Associate Professor and Head of the Wildlife Science Department of Kerala Agricultural University's College of Forest, Dr P O Nameer, said owls come under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Act, which makes it illegal even to rear them at home without prior permission.