Kathmandu, March 31:

Conservationists today flayed the hasty killing of birds smuggled from Pakistan. Central Animal Quarantine Office killed and buried over 250 wild birds, illegally brought from Pakistan, on Wednesday midnight, “to prevent bird flu from spreading.”

“It was a great loss. I could not see the species but I can say that those birds are fine gifts of nature and we should learn to love them,” RK Shrestha, director, Central Zoo, told this daily.

“I talked to officials from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and agreed to give space for the birds in the zoo and observe for certain period of time to see if they are infected,” he said. Rajendra Narasingh Suwal, a bird watcher, demanded that the CIAA probe the incident. Mangal Man Shakya, chairman, Wildlife Watch Group, alleged that the birds were killed to protect the racket of smugglers.