BY ASHOKKUMAR DESAI
CANACONA: Possessing a firearm without a licence is a punishable offence under the law yet the villagers who live in the hilly areas of Canacona taluka and some farmers possess more than 200 unlicensed firearms, informed highly reliable sources.

According to the Canacona police, around 376 rifles are officially recorded for the protection of paddy fields.
Most of the weapon owners in the taluka have own these weapons since the Portuguese regime. Many of the original licence holders have since died, however, their descendants and relatives use the weapons without transferring the licence to their own names.
These unlicensed arms are often used to hunt wild animals, the meat and hides of which have a good market price.
According to a local sarpanch, who spoke on condition of anonymity, wild boars and Chittals are killed in the name of ‘Bhovani’, a sacrifice made to God. He said many a time human beings are accidentally shot. He claimed that in the last 10 years, there have been eight incidents of accidental shooting.
The sources informed that more than 150 unlicensed single bore and small-bore rifles, besides locally-made
rifles, have been located in the villages of Cotigao and Gaodogirium and within the limits of the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary.  The sources further said that rampant hunting of wild animals has been going on in Badem, Nadkem, Kuskem, Cotigao, Khola and Gaodogirium.
Claiming that the killing of wild animals is in full swing at Canacona, some animal activists urged the concerned authorities to take immediate steps to stop this by confiscating the unlicensed weapons. They also requested for posting of more forest guards in the vulnerable areas.
According to Mr Janadhan Bhandhari, former sarpanch of Poinginium village panchayat, killing of wild boars and other animals has been rampant at the sanctuary and in the Polem forests along Goa-Karnataka borders for the past several months. Wild boars are usually killed at the commencement of harvesting season, as these animals visit the paddy fields during this time.