Sources claim that this figure is well more than 400 cases across the State in the year 2007. The department registered a total of 1,051 cases of poaching and has arrested 2,767 poachers in 2002-06. During the period only 79 cases were disposed off and 69 poachers were convicted in 31 cases. As many as 1,338 wild animals have lost their lives in the five-year period.

Additional Principal Chief Forest Conservator (Wild Life) HS Pabla said that the figures for 2007 are yet to be compiled by the department.

The main reason behind less convictions in poaching cases is that legal provisions require the forest officials to produce the body parts of the killed wild animal. The deposited part is send to forensic lab at Dehradun for checking the authenticity of the forest officials' claims of poaching.

"Dehradun lab is the only laboratory in the country and generally takes long time to conduct the required tests, just because of being overburdened, which delays the trial in poaching cases," said Principal Chief Conservator Forest (PCCF) VR Khare. Legal provisions in cases where forest officials use their weapons in self-defense are also problematic. In most cases the officer concerned is taken in the custody and his innocence is only proved in the magisterial probe.

The PCCF informed that they have written to the Union Government for doing away with this provision and make amendments in the law for authorising the senior forest officials for firing, if the situation demands. Lack of fresh recruitment to the post of forests guards for more than last 15 years is also making the situation worst. The last formal recruitment of forest guards was made in the year 1992.

According to official figures 3,500-4,000 posts of forest guards are still lying vacant, against which recruitment process has been initiated for only 2,241 guards.