Jorhat, July 20: Rampant killing of wildlife, especially deer, along the Assam-Nagaland border in Jorhat and Mokokchung districts has prompted the Assam forest department to send a proposal to its Nagaland counterpart to take joint steps for their conservation.

The deer population is confined mostly to Changchang and Longtho forest ranges under Mokokchung district of Nagaland, bordering Jorhat in Assam, but these animals fall prey to poachers, as they stray out of the reserve forest on both sides of the border.

Assam chief conservator of forests (wildlife) N.K. Vasu told this correspondent that he has been hearing reports about deer being killed and venison being sold openly in markets in Jorhat district along the Assam-Nagaland border for the past few years.

“We will visit the area soon to make a survey,” he said.

“The area can be transformed into a wildlife sanctuary,” he added.

Sources said deer are killed openly by villagers in Nagaland to be sold to people on the Assam side of the border.

“Venison is sold openly in the Gorajan market on the Assam side of the border,” a member of a local NGO said.

Mokokchung divisional forest officer Yashi Camir told this correspondent over phone that there is a sizeable deer population in both these forest ranges bordering Jorhat district in Assam.

“Villagers do kill deer during the winter season, especially during Christmas, but we take necessary steps to foil such attempts,” he added.

He said the killing of deer had come down following a ban issued by Naga militant groups sometime ago.