Bangladesh
forest officials seized more than 100 rare and protected
wild birds from a market in the capital Dhaka today, a forest official said.
''The avians mostly of Asian species were seized to discourage traders from procuring and selling wild birds, most of which are on the verge of extinction,'' said Forest Conservator Abdul Latif Meah.
The birds will be freed early tomorrow, he said, adding that the drive against bird poachers will continue.
Hunting wild birds is a punishable offence in Bangladesh.
As a precaution against avian
flu, Bangladesh last month warned against catching or eating any of the migratory birds which fly to the
country every winter from as far away as Siberia.
Bangladesh so far has had no known incidence of bird flu.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed 71 people in Asia, and scientists fear it will mutate into an easily spread human virus and spark a pandemic in which millions could die.
Officials said they were monitoring wetlands around the country but so far had found no dead or sick birds.
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