BHAKTAPUR, Oct 18 – Come autumn, and the woes of the farmers working in their fields in the Manohara river basin begins. The reason: hobby hunters from around the Valley throng the area in their quest for swans and other birds.

“They literally go on a rampage, and destroy our crops,” says a farmer as he points at a group of young men carrying air guns on their shoulder. “This is not all, their bullets disturb us like nothing else. The bullets even whiz past our ears at times.”

The hunters are not only posing problems to hundreds of farmers living in the relatively pristine river basin of the Valley by going on the bird hunting sprees. Wildlife biologists say, the uncontrolled hunting could push various species of migratory and local birds to the brink of extinction eliminating them once and for all.

Farmers of this area say they have been terrified for years due to the hunters firing indiscriminately at the birds that converge along the banks of the Manohara river and nearby farms.

“Police is there to stop the Maoists, but there is no one to stop these hunters,” says another farmer, Narendra Khanal of Mulpani VDC in Kathmandu district, as he narrates other problems caused by the hunters – like hooliganism and alcoholism.

The hunting season coincides with the harvesting season which sees farmers working day in and day out in the paddy and potato farms. Hunters chase after the flocks of birds as local farmers comprising men, women and children work nearby. At times the farmers become offensive at the hunters, but to no avail, say farmers.

Says Ram Saran KC, Chairman of Changu Narayan VDC-9: “They are disturbing the private lives of both the birds and we the farmers. They literally go on rampage around the villages under the influence of alcohol. This has to stop.”

“Why to kill the migratory birds?,” questions Keshav Shrestha, Chief of Natural History Museum. “It is high time authorities cared about the hapless bird species which are being eliminated by ruthless humans.”

According to him, several species of migratory birds – a few of them from as far as Siberia and Europe – migrate southwards to Nepal every year, especially during winter and fall.

“Hunters should not be left scot free, especially at a time when the bird population is on sharp decline all over the world,” he adds.

Such birds as mallards, brahminy-ducks, bar-headed geese and demoiselle cranes migrate to the Manohara river basin particularly during the post-monsoon season, according to experts.

And hunters are allured to these migratory birds as they taste good. “These birds tastes good once in a while,” says Nima Sherpa, a hobby bird hunter from Bauddha. Sherpa claims that he has not caused any disturbance to the locals.

Bharat Phuyal, Mulpani VDC Chairman, says that the government should declare the river basin area stretching from Pepsi Cola factory near Koteshwor to Sankhu on the foothills of Shivapuri a hunting free zone.

He says that the hunting is on rise as the government has not bothered to formulate any policy whatsoever regarding the conservation of both local and the migratory birds. “Neither there is an authorized body nor is there a system,” he adds.

According to experts, over 850 species of birds have been recorded in the country. But no statistics is available so far as to how many species of goose are found in the mid-hills or the Valley.