One of the biggest seizures of animal skins

New Delhi, October 14, 2003 : Chinese customs officials have made a record seizure of 1,276 skins comprising 32 tigers, 579 leopards and 665 otters, according to a report by the Chinese News Agency, Xinhua. Three Tibetans and two Nepalese have been arrested when the illegal skins were intercepted in Tibet while being transported by truck from Nepal into Tibet.

To be used for fashion garments, the haul has been estimated at a close to $ 795,000 in the international markets. This is being confirmed to the largest seizure in Tibet after 1951. This seizure in Tibet is also the largest single on ever of tiger and leopard skins. The smugglers seemed to be using a mountain pass in Tibet for transportation.

In the year 2002, the Wildlife Trust of India conducted a study on wildlife trade in the Indian states of Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh. One of the major revelations of the study was that from the mid eighties onwards, the Tibetans in exile living in India and Nepal had taken on the mantle of wildlife trade king pins in the region and most of the big seizures in recent years showed their involvement. It is also unfortunate that so far, only one of the Tibetan traders has been apprehended. This clearly suggests the urgent need for cooperation between the Indian, Nepalese and Chinese authorities.

“ The total tiger and leopard skin seizures (recorded in our database) that have Tibetan connections pales into insignificance compared to this latest seizure. It only shows that the problem is far graver than what we had ever imagined. Otter skins are of course consumed in large quantity in Tibet itself and our database goes back showing a huge trade. Leopard skins are being openly seen as trimming to coats in the markets of Lhasa”, said Ashok Kumar, Senior Advisor and Trustee, WTI.

Of all the major seizures in India in recent years, four of these seizures had signatures of a Tibetan and a serial number at the back of the skins indicated that the skin had been selected from a much larger lot. There can be little doubt that the bulk of these skins went from India though some skins may have originated in Nepal. The Khasa border check post on the road from Kathmandu to Lhasa hardly checks any consignments. A WTI official has witnessed many buses and trucks passing the border without any checks or detection.

Though this seizure is a matter of great success for Chinese authorities, it is also a reminder that enforcement of wildlife laws needs a complete overhaul in India and also in Nepal.