Forest officials have arrested six persons for selling tiger and leopard skins worth Rs.80 lakhs. Divisional Forest Officer P.K. Mahajan said the accused would be sentenced for attempting to sell and export the animal skins. “Out of the six accused, one of the accused identified as Abdul Khaleed has an ownership certificate, but this would not help him. He is from Amrawati District and he transported the skin from Amrawati to Nagpur without permission. So, one offence is transportation without permission and second they tried to trade them which us also not allowed,” added Mahajan Tiger parts traded include complete skins, skeletons, bones, meat, claws, teeth, skulls, penises and others. India remains a major player in the supply of tiger parts. Suppliers are also known to exist in Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.
Tiger parts are used as good luck charms, decorations, traditional medicines, strength and courage. Development pressures and encroachment into forest areas have brought humans and the wild cats into conflict, and there have been reports of villagers brutally killing the animals. India”s big cats are under threat, with an increasing number being poached.
————–IANS