Miscellaneous
Three held with animal parts in two weeks
Police authorities have made second arrests and seizures of endangered tiger parts within two weeks in Far-Western region of the country.Police authorities have made second arrests and seizures of endangered tiger parts within two weeks in Far-Western region of the country.
Acting on a tip-off, police arrested two people along with a tiger skin from an area near Bardiya National Park (BNP). Though the origin of the tiger body part is yet unknown, the ongoing political unrest has raised fears of increased poaching and illegal trade of endangered wildlife species in many places across the country, especially along the existing transit routes for wildlife trade.
About two weeks ago, a team from the Mahendranagar-based Central Bureau of Investigation of Nepal Police had arrested Gopi Ram Chaudhary with a 6.5 foot tiger skin and over three kilograms of tiger bones from Ghodaghodi in Kailali district. Another local involved in the smuggling is missing, police said.
According to Maheshwar Dhakal, an official at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, the government is concerned over the reports of animal part smuggling in the recent times. “Local authorities are asked to carry out monitoring in order to curb the illegal trade,” he said.
The ongoing civil unrest in Tarai districts due to protests from Madesh-based parties over the new constitution has fuelled serious concerns in conservation sector.
Besides the cases of seizures of wildlife and their body parts, reports on illegal logging in many public forests in Tarai districts have also raised concerns of conservationists in the recent times.