377 deer poachers arrested in one year in the Sundarbans

Forest guards in the eastern part of the Sundarbans arrested 377 people in forest crime cases during drives conducted over the past one year and seized more than 1 lakh feet of deer trapping nets along with 249 kilograms of venison and 448 trawlers and boats. According to the Forest Department, members of the forest protection force carried out extensive operations in the Sharankhola and Chandpai ranges under the Eastern Forest Division to prevent poaching of deer and other wildlife in the mangrove forest.

Of the arrested persons, 84 got bail from the court and rest are in Bagerhat Jail, the forest office sources said. Forest guards conducted foot patrols deep inside the forest as part of the anti-poaching campaign. From May 2025 to April 2026, they conducted 474 drives and filed 241 cases over different forest crimes. A total of 396 people were accused in those cases, of whom 377 were arrested and sent to jail through the court. During the period, forest guards seized 1,14,553 feet of deer traps spread across around 35 kilometers of forest areas and recovered 100 kilograms of venison from different locations of the forest.

The drives also led to the seizure of 448 trawlers, 100 boats, 8,381 illegal crab-catching traps locally known as “charu”, 300 feet of fishing nets, 217 kilograms of assorted fish, 724 kilograms of poisoned fish, 96 bottles and five packets of poison used for fishing, 22 sacks of dried shrimp caught using poison, and 1,066 kilograms of illegally harvested crabs.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Eastern Sundarbans Forest Division in Bagerhat, Md Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, said forest crimes in the Sundarbans have declined significantly compared to previous years. He said forest guards were able to reduce forest crimes through regular patrols on foot in the remote forest areas. The DFO said 241 cases were filed in connection with forest crimes over the last one year and 377 people were arrested in those cases.

He added that 249 kilograms of venison were seized during the period, which was 700 to 800 kilograms lower than the previous year. To prevent wildlife hunting, the Eastern Forest Division has also prepared a list of 150 identified deer poachers and shared it with law enforcement and intelligence agencies for surveillance, he added.