19 Leopard, 6 Tiger skins seized in 4 weeks

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19 Leopard, 6 Tiger skins seized in 4 weeks

Avijit Ghosh

 

[ 8 Aug, 2006 0315hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1869054.cms

 

NEW DELHI: With police and forest officials seizing at least six

tiger skins, 19 leopard skins and several kilograms of big cat bones

from illegal wildlife traders across India in the past four weeks,

alarmed conservationists feel that the feeble efforts by UPA

government notwithstanding, poaching continues to be child's play.

 

The seizures were made between July 12 to August 6 in 11 separate

incidents in the small towns and qasbahs of Uttar Pradesh, West

Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

 

The latest tiger skin confiscation took place near Mala railway

station in Pilibhit district on Saturday. The Uttar Pradesh forest

department seized two tiger skins and 1 kg tiger bones. A man of

Bangladeshi origin was apprehended. Two others escaped.

 

" These are skins of adult tigers about 10-11 feet long, " says Tito

Joseph of Wildlife Protection Society of India. Conservationists say

these incidents indicate that traders of tiger and leopard skins

exist in cities, towns and qasbahs alike.

 

Some confiscations have been made from little-known towns such as

Kanker in Chhattisgarh where a 10-feet-long tiger skin was seized by

the forest department on July 12.

 

Similarly, two leopard skins were confiscated on July 30 from the

boondocks of Orissa's Kandhamal district.

 

Tiger conservationist Valmik Thapar feels that saving the tiger is

not a priority for the UPA government. " Even today, there are 20,000

vacancies for forest staff. And the average age of forest guards is

50, " he says.

 

As per government estimates, about 3,600 tigers survive in India.

But Thapar offers a different figure. " On the basis of my 30 years

experience in conservation, my guess is anything between 1,200 to

1,500, " he says.

 

Among those arrested last month was Ashok Sharma, son of alleged

wildlife trader Ratiram Sharma. On July 25, he was on his way to

Bhutan with one tiger skin and three leopard skins when police

apprehended him.

 

Ratiram had earlier been nabbed on July 14 with four leopard skins,

11 kg of tiger bones and skulls and 16 kg of rhino skins. WPSI

sources say the skins and bones were sourced from animals poached in

Assam.

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WILDLIFE PROTECTION SOCIETY OF INDIA (WPSI)

S-25 Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110017, India

Tel: (Int+ 91.11) 4163.5920 & 4163.5921

Fax: (Int+ 91.11) 4163.5924

E-mail: wpsi

Website: www.wpsi-india.org

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