The Sindh Wildlife Department, working with game police on Thursday, arrested four poachers at Angri Lake near Nindo Shahar and recovered 70 migratory birds from their possession.

Asad Ali Marri, the officer in charge of the raid, told Dawn said that a first offence report has been registered against Mohammad Arab Mallah, Allah Bachayo Mallah, Mohammad Aslam Mallah and Babu Mallah.

Marri said that the party had caught the poachers red-handed. He said the captured birds had migrated from Siberia and other colder countries for the winter season, and that the poachers had set up camp near the lake to capture them.

Suresh Kumar, the district game officer, told Dawn that he had directed the game police to ensure the full protection of rare bird species and migratory birds in Badin.

Kumar said that the birds confiscated by the game police include ducks and coots, whose wings had been broken by the poachers. He added that the birds would be released in their natural habitats.

“Hunters, after netting and poaching the birds, sell them in the cities like Karachi,” he said, adding that he had ordered the setting up of pickets at the entry and exit points of lakes on the coastal belt to keep poachers at bay.