Thirty peacocks have been found dead in various parts of the state. While 21 peacocks were found dead in a village near Jodhpur, poachers killed nine peacocks in a village in Bundi district, says an Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) report.

"21 peacocks were found dead in an agriculture field in Salodi village in Jodhpur district Monday evening," a police official told IANS Tuesday.

The forest department has been informed and forest officials have started investigations, he added. The forest department has sent the carcasses of the peacocks found in the field for post-mortem examination. "We would know the cause of the peacocks' death after we receive the report," B R Bhadu, a forest department official, said.

In Sisola village in Bundi district, poachers killed nine peacocks after offering them poisonous substance. Local villagers tried to catch the poachers but they managed to escape with carcasses of five peacocks.

The state government has so far failed to curb poaching of peacocks. Peacocks face maximum threat in three dozen villages in 14 districts of this desert state.

"Maximum deaths are taking place in Ajmer, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh and the Shekhawati belt of the state. According to available information, over 250 peacocks have been killed in these places in the last few months," Babulal Jaju, PFA's Rajasthan head, told IANS.

Jaju added that the attacks on peacocks generally go unreported. The survey alleged that the tribals, who eat the white meat of birds, usually kill peacocks. The demand for export of feathers of male peacocks also leads to poaching of the national bird.