Wildlife at poachers’ mercy

SURENDRA SUBEDI
SANKHUWASABHA, Sept 7 – The absence of a security mechanism at Makalu-Barun National Park (MBNP) has left animals in the park at the mercy of poachers and wildlife traffickers.

“Incidents of wildlife trafficking are rife due to the absence of a security mechanism to discourage traffickers and poachers in the park,” says Durgakiran Rai, chairman of the park’s buffer zone management committee.

It is learnt that animals are trafficked from here to bordering regions of China for skin and other body parts. The park, which covers a swathe of 2,330 sq. km. between Sankhuwasabha and Solukhumbu districts, is home to endangered animals, including red panda, snow leopard and musk deer.

Last year, 17 musk deer were poached at the park’s Tamku region.

Posted on: 2009-09-06 23:14:51 (Server Time)
http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=213630

2 thoughts on “Wildlife at poachers’ mercy”

  1. Yes the story is very true. I was recently in Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA), Nepal. I spent more then 2 months in that area and saw myself poaching of wild animals in that area. I have even been able to take some photos of the Naur being poached by the local people. I came to understand that whenever there is any opportunity, the local people kills the animal. Of course there is serious lack of monitoring agents and security mechanism. The police who are said to be present at moment in some places are themselves involved in poaching. The Tibetan traders who come to these border villages can be seen openly bargaining for those products and goes house by house in search of products.

    Everyone knows that killing animal is crime but this is open secret among the villagers about such killings. Whole winter, these people depends on such killings for their diet. Go and ask the herders in Pathivara for letting their animals go free in the forest and the answer is that there is no any animal that can kill the cow…The forest is very dense and very suitable for the Jungle Leopard, wild dog and Bear but they are so confident. They say that they have been able to eliminate total leopard and wild dog from that part and only few bears are remaining. That gave me confident to travel in that forest even in night after 8:00PM

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