The forest department arrested two persons with two leopard pelts in the Badkot forest division of Uttarkashi district on Monday. The operation was carried out with inputs from Wildlife Protection Society of India and EFFECT.
Dr Abhishek Singh of EFFECT informed that JS Payal and TS Rana were arrested with the two leopard pelts which were ascertained to be about two years old. “One of the leopards had been shot while the other had been poisoned using a pesticide, which we suspect is Furadan,” he said Both the pelts were from big cats who had lost their canines which makes us suspect that the old leopards must have started coming near human settlements to prey on domesticated animals when they were poached. One of the leopards was killed by poisoning the body of a bovine which it had killed,” he added.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of CCF Kumaon circle, Param Jit Singh who is presently handling the additional charge of the anti-poaching cell director.