The wild animal skin mafia operating in Kandhamal district has spread its network up to Arunachal Pradesh. This is evident after the Kandhamal district police nabbed two poachers near Baliguda and seized two panther skins, a leopard skin and a trophy made from a barking deer skull recently.
Interrogations of the two poachers led the police to arrest of four more persons involved in poaching and trading of wild animal limbs from Daringbadi. Two claws and some bile sacs of bears were seized from the poachers. According to the police, the arrests followed laying of a trap for the poachers for the last three months.
Moreover, the interrogations revealed that the poachers have a direct link with the hunting Lushiya tribals of Arunachal Pradesh. Lushiya tribals are also coming to Kandhamal forests for poaching of elephants, leopards, panthers, bear and deer. The tribals kill the animals in a very cruel manner after trapping them, so that there are no injuries on their hides, which are sold at a high price.
The local poachers and their Lushiya tribal accomplices live in remote forest areas of the district for more than two weeks at a stretch. They kill the leopards and panthers by stabbing their bellies with spears to procure the skins intact. Besides, they use poisoned bows and arrows to kill the animals.
