Kerala - Kollam   

Greed preying on barn owls

— PHOTO C. Suresh Kumar

A barn owl perched on the loft of a shop in Kollam.

KOLLAM: All of a sudden, greed has come to prey on the graceful barn owl (Tyto alba), a friend of farmers’.

The birds, a protected species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, are being caught and smuggled alive to unknown destinations, suspected to be for black magic or crude medicine. The hush-hush talk in the smuggling circuit is that a bird fetches between Rs.1 lakh and Rs.1.5 lakh in some neighbouring countries.

Of late, law-enforcing agencies have caught several persons while attempting to smuggle barn owls. But the accused, belonging to the lower rungs of the racket, are unable to throw much light on the end use of the owls. They used to be paid between Rs.5,000 and Rs.10,000 a bird.

Barn owls are among the widely distributed birds of the world. Unlike other owls, they do not hoot, but screech and hiss like snakes. They are long-legged and have faces resembling a white heart-shaped disc with conspicuous marble-like eyes. They are also known as ghost owls, demon owls and death owls.

A pair of these birds easily feed on 1,500 rodents annually, helping farmers in that way.

Police sources say that of late, gangs trapping barn owls have become highly active in the State. But the reason for the smuggling cannot be pinpointed. The trend began in the northern parts of the country two years ago.

One of the reasons suggested is that barn owls are used for black magic rituals and sacrificed for success in business. Another version is that their blood and organs are used in alternative medicines.

Crude medical practitioners spread the rumour that the blood can cure asthma. So, the birds are required alive for their blood. Yet another version is that some medical preparations made using its organs restore hearing.

Still another version is that the birds are required alive for their eyes since an alternative medicine prepared from their eyes cure visual defects. This medicine is reportedly prepared by traditional medicine practitioners in Bangladesh and China.

Hence, these birds are smuggled across the border. A flock of these birds were not long ago seized from smugglers on the Indo-Bangladesh border by the Border Security Force.

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