COIMBATORE: Thirty-one peafowls were found dead in farmlands at Sultanpettai in Coimbatore on Thursday evening. Preliminary investigation by the forest department suggested that the birds might have been poisoned.
According to sources, officials in Madukkarai Forest Range were alerted by Sultanpettai police that a large number of peafowls were found dead in farmlands at Gandhinagar near Sultanpettai. A team led by Madukkarai Forest Range Officer P Sandhiya found carcasses of 31 birds in lands belonging to four farmers. They took the carcasses to the Madukkarai Forest Range Office.
Speaking to TNIE, N Jayaraj, District Forest Officer (DFO), Coimbatore, said "We have sent samples of the birds to a lab in Chennai and also the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON). The report is expected in a week. We strongly suspect the birds might have been poisoned.”