The report warns that India's owl population is under pressure A leading animal protection group in India has called for tougher measures to protect owls ahead of the Hindu Diwali festival on Friday.
A report written by conservation group Traffic says that thousands of owls are traditionally sacrificed on "auspicious" occasions.
It warns that India's owl population is also being destroyed because of black magic rituals.
It says that half India's 30 species of owls are caught and sold alive.
"The sacrifice of owls on auspicious occasions appears to be a regular practice and [there could be] a possible increase in trade and sacrifices around Diwali," the Imperilled Custodians of the Night report says.
Diwali - known as the festival of light - is one of the main events on the Hindu calendar and is also marked by Sikhs. It celebrates the triumph of good over evil.
Traffic's concern over the plight of owls in the run-up to the occasion is supported by WWF India and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Environment Minister Shri Jairam Ramesh has also given his backing to the campaign.
"Diwali should be a time for celebration across our nation, not one when our wildlife is plundered to feed ignorant superstition," he said.
"India's wildlife already faces many pressures; the additional burden of being killed out of ignorance and fear is not one that has any place in our modern society.
"Owls are as important to our ecosystem as tigers are.
"It is important that the threat to them during Diwali is brought to light and concrete ground action undertaken to curb such activities."
The Traffic report also highlights the killing of owls in "black magic and sorcery driven by superstition, totems and taboos".
It says that this is one of "the prime drivers of the covert owl trade".
The problem can only be tackled by better law enforcement, the report says, and more awareness of the "beneficial and vital role of owls in the ecosystem" - especially their benefit to farmers through their "predation of rodents and other crop pests".
The report says that black magic practitioners prescribe the use of owls and their body parts for ceremonial pujas and rituals.
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-south-asia-11673226
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