Wildlife poaching: Over 9,000 arrested in 6 years

New Delhi, July 01: Over 9,000 people have been arrested for wildlife poaching across the country during 2012-2018, the Environment Ministry informed the Lok Sabha recently.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar was responding to a query in the Lower House on the number of people apprehended in poaching cases.

"As per available records of the Wildlife Crime Control Board (WCCB) based on the information received from the state forest and police authorities, 9,253 people have been arrested in wildlife poaching cases between 2012 and 2018," he said.

As per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which keeps records of tigers and leopards, there have been 141 cases of poaching, while 84 seizures have been made between 2012 and 2018, Javadekar said.

According to the data, the maximum number of poaching and seizure cases were in Madhya Pradesh which reported 31 and 12 incidents, respectively.

On another question whether trafficking of rare wildlife is the main reason for poaching, the ministry said that along with smuggling, poaching is also attributed to secondary killing of rare and endangered species of wildlife.

The ministry said several measures have been taken to curb poaching cases, like providing assistance to states under centrally sponsored scheme of 'Project Tiger' for protection and anti poaching operations.

"Providing grant through NTCA for patrolling in tiger rich sensitive forest areas outside tiger reserves. Advising states for combing forest floor to check snares/traps and using information technology for improved surveillance using thermal cameras...," the ministry said elaborating on the measures taken.