Hunters preyed on migratory birds at the Candaba Swamp in Pampanga. (Photo courtesy of DENR)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO –– Six men were arrested in Candaba town in Pampanga on Wednesday for allegedly killing two Great egrets, a kind of migratory bird taking winter refuge at the Candaba Swamp.
The suspects used air rifles in shooting the globe-trotting fowls in Barangay Paligui, according to Laudemir Salac, head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Pampanga.
Lt. Col. Efren David, Jr., police chief in Candaba, identified the suspects as Jaime Buenaventura, Pablo Cunanan, Jose Carlo Dizon, Michael Gamos, Vicente Pangan, and Rodrigo Canlas, all residents of Barangay San Joaquin in nearby Sta. Ana town.
David said four air rifles, three carbon dioxide tanks, 37 air gun pellets, and two species of dead Great egrets were seized from the suspects.
The suspects have been under the custody of the Candaba police while criminal charges were being prepared against them.
The DENR said 54 species of local birds and 68 migratory birds have been recorded in the Candaba wetlands since 1940. Last year, more than 2,000 birds were recorded during the Asian Waterbirds Census.