Dehradun: The forests of Uttarakhand have not only turned out to be favourite destination for tourists but also attracting wildlife smugglers. The situation is such that Uttarakhand occupies the second position among the Himalayan states as per figures of arrested poachers.
Despite constant efforts of the state police and Uttarakhand forest department, smuggling of wildlife organs continue to be a cause of concern. Data of the last three years reveal that 31 smugglers have been caught in the state so far. Four poachers were caught in 2022 and in 2023, this figure rose to 10 while in 2024, 17 poachers were caught.
Among the Himalayan states, Assam has the highest number of poachers with 40 arrested in the last three years while at the national level, Madhya Pradesh ranks first with 117 poachers arrested during this period. A total of 1037 smugglers were arrested across the country in the last three years.
Forest minister Subodh Uniyal said that efforts have been strengthened to fight against poaching. Over 1200 forest personnel have been appointed in the last two years and technology is being used to track poachers.
Officials said that even tiger skins and organs of endangered animals have been recovered from some poachers. A large number of poachers have also been arrested in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Uttarakhand has slowly become a soft target for poachers following which, not only the Uttarakhand forest department and police but also national agencies are active in the state. Uttarakhand, being adjacent to the international border, is sensitive to wildlife hunters and smugglers. The large number of wildlife species in the forests of Uttarakhand attracts hunters here.
Corbett Tiger Reserve and its surrounding areas rank first in the country in terms of tiger density. In such a situation, it is easy for hunters to spot straying tigers.
It has come to light that many international gangs have been active in Uttarakhand and their members were caught smuggling wildlife organs in the past. Such gangs have links to Nepal and China and animal body parts are used for making medicines and cosmetics. After poaching in Uttarakhand, body parts of wild animals are often smuggled to China via Nepal.
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