DEHRADUN: Despite a quantum jump in the budget allocated to the forest department for intelligence gathering from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 25 lakh in 2016, incidents of poaching continue unabated. In the latest instance in Pithoragarh, the special task force of the police arrested a local resident with four leopard skins, while the divisional forest officer was not aware about poaching activities in the area.
In 2016, the state government had hiked the budget for the forest department’s intelligence gathering activities, following the department’s demand that their informers’ network needed to be strengthened. These informers are rewarded with money from the department’s secret fund. The demand had been raised after the poaching of five tigers was unearthed by the police in March 2016.
However, the increased budget has had little impact on the ground. In 2015-16, 11 leopard skins, 10 deer antlers, 127 endangered turtles and 70 kg of bones of wild animals were seized. From March 2016 to the present, however, 32 skins of leopards and five skins of tigers, eight pods of bear bile, eight deer antlers, 247 endangered turtles and 87 kg of bones of wild animals have been seized, indicating that the problem has only worsened.
Vinay Bhargav, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Pithoragarh, offered no comment on the continued incidents of leopard poaching and the modus operandi of locals involved in the racket. However, police sources confirmed that locals were involved in killing leopards using various methods such as poisoning and snares.
Conservator of forests I P Singh was also found to be unaware of the latest haul of leopard skin. While chief wildlife warden D V S Khati also said he was unaware of the incident, he expressed his regret at the continued failure of forest officials in controlling poaching.
According to Tito Joseph, programme manager of Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), who helped police in nabbing the accused at Pithoragarh, “Dharchula in Pithoragarh has been a trade centre for organs of wild animals for many years and locals are involved in killing them. Now it is to be seen if the animal parts are supplied beyond Nepal and China,” he said.
Giving the example of Madhya Pradesh, where after a seizure of some pangolin scales last year the forest department tracked down and arrested some 80 people involved in poaching, including informers, the actual poachers, carriers and traders, Joseph said Uttarakhand, which witnesses frequent cases of poaching needed to conduct operations of this scale. “Sometimes forest department officials lack the experience, capability or zeal to tackle the networks involved in animal trade. At times, the works of an enthusiastic official is negated when another is transferred to his post,” Joseph added.
