Four leopards killed every week between 2001-10: Study

HYDERABAD: An estimated four leopards were poached and their body parts sold illegally every week between 2001 and 2010 in India, a recent report from Traffic, an anti-poaching NGO, said.

The study, 'Illuminating the Blind Spot: A Study on Illegal Trade in Leopard Parts in India', used state forest department and newspaper records of seizures of illegally traded leopard parts to assess that the big cat was facing a battle of attrition in India.

During the 10-year period, the study said, 420 seizures of leopard skins, bones and other body parts reported from 209 localities in India were recorded.

The authors of the report extrapolated from this data to capture the undetected cases of poaching to conclude that around 2,294 leopards were trafficked in India during the period — an average of four animals per week.

The authors noted, "Leopard skin dominates the illegal market of leopard body parts with 88.3% of the seizures pertaining to leopard skins with Delhi coming out as the hub of the trade followed by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand as the next hotspots where the leopard is vulnerable. Coupled with high poaching records in two other states, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, the problem of illegal trade seems to be focused in northern India."

Body parts of leopards from India have been found in markets in Laos and China with Nepal being the preferred route out for the smugglers. The study noted that some body parts of tigers were prescribed in the traditional Chinese medicine system.

Unlike the tiger, the leopard is found in vast areas in India and several states regularly report a serious problem of human-leopard conflict caused by the animal's penchant for livestock.

There are no clear numbers for the leopard population in the country, but the study said various expert reports over 14 years have consistently warned of declining densities.