Odisha’s Special Task Force (STF) and the Forest Department together have seized about 45 leopard skins in the last two years. This indicates that 5% of the state’s leopards have already been hunted. An analysis of poaching cases shows that big cats are being killed not only because of organized crime networks, but mainly because of random hunting.
Ever since the State Crime Branch’s STF has been tasked with taking action against wildlife offenders, the number of detection cases of poaching has increased. In the last two years, the STF alone has confiscated 26 leopard skins.
“Since we are pursuing the wildlife crime cases diligently, the flow of intelligence has been seamless. In 30% of the cases, we found criminals trading in leopard skins linked to organized crimes, while 70% of the cases were random murders,” Jai Narayan Pankaj, STF chief and deputy inspector general of police, told this reporter.
He said, “There has been a sharp increase in wildlife crimes during the two years of COVID-19. Those living in forested areas are involved in poaching and trade. They wait for the opportune time to trade leopard skins and earn quick money. ,
The STF chief said that there is a local market for leopard skins, whereas this is not the case in the ivory business. “We have competent agencies who can conduct a thorough investigation and trace the links between local traders and the International Wildlife Crime Network,” he said.
‘tip of the iceberg’
The leopard population in Odisha is estimated to be 800. “The current seizure of skins is just the tip of the iceberg. The actual prey of animals can be up to five times higher. I suspect Odisha would have lost over 200 animals during the COVID times,” said Biswajit Mohanty, a wildlife activist.
Mr Mohanty said, “The state government should come up with an action plan to reverse the trend. In the absence of strict action against the criminals, the tiger population in Odisha is declining. We may soon face a scenario where the leopard population will be snatched from the state. ,
This week the state forest department arrested seven people who were openly bargaining for leopard skins at Karanjia Bus Terminal in Mayurbhanj district. Two more skins were found from three middlemen in Deogarh district.
In Samantiyapalli range under Berhampur forest division, two leopard skins were confiscated by forest department employees, while a man was arrested last week for his alleged involvement in the trade.
The STF and the forest department have so far traced the poachers involved in the leopard skin trade in 17 out of 30 districts of the state. In Nayagarh district in 2020, the STF had arrested a college lecturer who was involved in trading in leopard skins. Similarly, in Nayagarh, a member of the Panchayat Samiti was found selling body parts of a leopard.
‘Appointment of Special Lawyers’
“There is no fear among wildlife criminals. Prosecution is weak and punishment is less even in Schedule I animal cases. In many cases criminals are on the run. The state forest department should think of appointing special lawyers so that the cases reach a logical end and the conviction rate increases,” said the wildlife activist.
It is alleged that the Wildlife Crime Cell set up by the Forest Department is lying dormant and there is no response to the secret information. A senior police officer said that though the forest department has huge manpower, it hardly gets any information from the ground, while the STF has improved its striking rate over the years.
The STF has so far seized 26 leopard skins, 15 elephant skins, 7 deer skins, 11 live pangolins, 23.5 kg pangolin scales and body parts of leopards. So far 61 criminals have been arrested.