Lucknow, Aug 3 - Three men were arrested Monday in Uttar Pradesh's Shravasti district for killing peacocks and three carcasses of the birds were seized from them, police said.

'Mohd. Arman Khan, Chand Mohammad and Azizur Rehman, who had shot the peacocks Sunday, were arrested today (Monday) from the Bantiwa area in Shravasti,' police inspector Satyakant Yadav told reporters.

According to police, the three have admitted that they have been killing peacocks for over last one year and supplying the bird's meat and feathers to their clients based in various districts of Uttar Pradesh and some of its adjoining states.

The peacock, declared the national bird of India, is protected under Section 51 (1-A) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and its hunting and killing is strictly prohibited. However, its feathers and fat, used in the treatment of arthritis, fetch a good amount.

The three have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Wildlife Protection Act, Yadav said.

Shravasti is some 200 km from Lucknow.