29th August, 2003

According to preliminary reports, a Special Operations Group team of the Pithoragarh Police seized one leopard skin and one snow leopard skin from a poacher. Acting on intelligence gathered, constables Azab Singh and Pervez Alam, lead by Mr. Sudhir Kumar, arrested the poacher on 28 August at Rai bridge on the Pithoragarh-Dharchula road.

Investigations suggest that the poacher killed the animals in Sikher forests of Uttaranchal three months ago. The skins were cleaned locally and were to be delivered to a Delhi-based trader.

In the last year there has been clear evidence suggesting an increased demand for snow leopard skins. A study by TRAFFIC International shows that the species and its parts are illegally traded in all twelve range countries, though the driving forces behind the killings vary from region to region.

In Afghanistan the fur trade has gone up by an estimated 60% and the interest shown by the international troops stationed in the country could well ensure the extinction of the snow leopard there. Moreover, the crackdown on the illegal tiger bone trade has led to an increased demand for snow leopard bones by Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners.