An anti-poaching team of the Forest Department found a skinned black-naped hare during a raid at a rice mill in Jakora village of Varni mandal in Nizamabad district on Sunday morning.
The black-naped hare is an Indian hare with a patch of black fur that runs along the nape of its neck.
The team also recovered two rifles with telescope and silencers, search lights, binoculars, knives and torch lights used by hunters to shoot the animals. A gang of poachers headed by Luqman Affendi confessed to hunting in the nearby forest and farmlands for black bucks but could not find any. So, they hunted the hare that they came across, a release said.
Luqman Affendi and his brother Imran Affendi, who are both from Hyderabad and run the rice mill, and three of their employees were arrested. A Tata Safari used in hunting was seized.
The release added that Luqman Affendi was a habitual offender who regularly invited his friends from Hyderabad to treat them to meat of wildlife. They went out to poach animals on Friday night but their attempt was futile. Their hunt continued on Saturday and Sunday when the vigilance wing of Forest Department was alerted.
