Kolkata, Sept 25: The Border Security Force (BSF) rescued four golden pheasants in the North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal.
The BSF had an intelligence input regarding the possible smuggling of birds along the Indo-Bangladesh Border and troops of Amudiya Border Outpost were on an alert, said a senior BSF official.
Jawans spotted two persons approaching the border fence from the Bangladesh side in a suspicious manner. When BSF personnel approached to them, the duo fled back dropping plastic bags that they were carrying. A search was launched immediately and the birds were found packed in two plastic bags.
The birds were taken to the Amudiya BOP and taken care of before being handed over to officials of the forest department at Basirhat.
Golden pheasants face a threat from hunting and habitat loss and are placed under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. These birds are not found in the wild in India or Bangladesh but are an attraction as an exotic species for private collectors.
