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Monday, February 21, 2005
Paws, claws, canines and jawbones
Avijit Ghosh writes in the Telegraph:
The godown in question belonged to Sansar Chand, a wildlife smuggler often described as the Veerappan of the North. (And who apparently isn't a poacher himself, but "outsources the job".) Ghosh describes how the cops did a fine job by finding Chand's storehouse, but how the man himself is absconding, as poaching and wildlife trading continue unabated. Why so? Ghosh writes:
What happens to the skins, I wonder.
Update: Read Manoj Kumar Misra's an excellent comment on why "wildlife smuggling cartels" are flourishing in India.
It was a three-month long undercover operation that led to a west Delhi warehouse. But when Inspector Rakesh Giri raided the godown with his team of policemen, he just wasn’t prepared for the magnitude of the haul — and the savageness of the gore. Blood-soaked paws, claws, canines and jawbones of tigers and leopards were packed in cartons. Some big cat skins were stained with blood. “It was like being in a slaughterhouse,” says Giri.
The godown in question belonged to Sansar Chand, a wildlife smuggler often described as the Veerappan of the North. (And who apparently isn't a poacher himself, but "outsources the job".) Ghosh describes how the cops did a fine job by finding Chand's storehouse, but how the man himself is absconding, as poaching and wildlife trading continue unabated. Why so? Ghosh writes:
The larger truth though is that judicial convictions relating to wildlife cases are abysmally low. Out of 748 cases in India where the skins of tigers, leopards or otters have been seized, there have been only 14 convictions. The cases also proceed at a snail’s pace taking about 8-10 years before being decided. A designated court for wildlife has more than 250 cases in Delhi alone.
What happens to the skins, I wonder.
Update: Read Manoj Kumar Misra's an excellent comment on why "wildlife smuggling cartels" are flourishing in India.
