Orissa a 'mute spectator' to Elephanticide: WSO

Bhubaneswar, Apr 28 (UNI) Orissa government has turned a ''mute spectator'' to the unabated poaching of tuskers in the state for illegal ivory trade, Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO) Secretary Biswajit Mohanty said.

He claimed that in the last twelve months as many as 14 elephants were mercilessly killed in Orissa's forests.

In April alone two elephants were shot dead, one at Chandaka and the other at Satkoshia wildlife sancturies, both considered as the ideal habitat for the elephants in Orissa.

The growing menace of unchecked operation of elephant poachers and ivory traders was evident from the recent seizures of 64 kgs of ivory at Jashipur in Mayurbhanj district in December followed by another seizure of 10 kgs of ivory in Jharsuguda in January 2006.

Both the seizures, the WSO Secretary said were conducted by police officials giving a clear signal that the wildlife authorities have no information about the rampant tusk trade business going on across the state, he alleged.

The rampant wildlife trade had come to light in Orissa as far as back in April 1996, when 21 leopard skins were seized near Khurda but no concrete action had been taken so far as to check the crime, he said.

Over the last 25 years, the elephant population in Orissa had shown an alarmingly declining trend with the number of the elephants coming down to 271 in 2005 as against 363 reported in 2002 census.

Poachers selectively target the tuskers, which has distorted the sex ratio which is bound to cause breeding imbalance in the near future unless checked now.

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