Poacher with leopard pelts, bear biles arrested in Jammu and Kashmir

In a big crackdown on the illegal wildlife trafficking racket, the Jammu and Kashmir police and wildlife officials seized leopard pelts, bear biles and musk pods and arrested a poacher. The present seizure is one of the largest seizures in the recent past.

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir police, along with Wildlife Department officials, on Saturday arrested one person and recovered leopard pelts, bear biles and musk pods in Anantnag and Manwal. Police said they have recovered eight leopard pelts, thirty-eight bear biles, four musk pod from the possession of the accused.

The accused, identified as Gul Mohammad Ganie, is a resident of Anantnag.

Acting on specific inputs, Anantnag police headed by SHO Saddar Police Station raided a house in Sherpura area and took the owner into custody after seizing the hides and body parts of animals. Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter.

In a tweet, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar congratulated WCCB on its continued commitment towards ending wildlife crime.

He wrote, "Kudos to the team of @WCCBHQ, J&K police and the Forest department for their successful operation and arresting 2 main kingpins involved in illegal wildlife trafficking in the J&K region. Keep up the continued commitment towards ending wildlife crime."

• Kudos to the team of @WCCBHQ , J&K police and the Forest department for their successful operation and arresting 2 main kingpins involved in illegal wildlife trafficking in the J&K region.
  
  Keep up the continued commitment towards ending wildlife crime. https://t.co/v4u0cYDWm8

  — Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) January 30, 2021 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  Kudos to the team of @WCCBHQ , J&K police and the Forest department for their successful operation and arresting 2 main kingpins involved in illegal wildlife trafficking in the J&K region.
  
  Keep up the continued commitment towards ending wildlife crime. https://t.co/v4u0cYDWm8

  — Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) January 30, 2021

  ">

  Kudos to the team of @WCCBHQ , J&K police and the Forest department for their successful operation and arresting 2 main kingpins involved in illegal wildlife trafficking in the J&K region.
  
  Keep up the continued commitment towards ending wildlife crime. https://t.co/v4u0cYDWm8

  — Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) January 30, 2021

Further investigation will reveal for how long they have been involved in this illegal trade, as also quantum, extent and associates of this illegal business. Efforts are being made to trace the forward and backward linkages of this illegal activity, demand and supply chains and onward traders' linkages.

The present seizure is one of the largest seizures in the recent past. Musk deer and Himalayan Black bear are endangered species and poached for musk pods, bear bile, which is used in Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM).

These poached animals - leopard, bear and musk deer are listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. As per the provisions of the Act, poaching of these animals and trading their by parts is punishable with minimum 03 years of imprisonment extendable up to 07 years.