NEW DELHI: The Indian government is looking into reports that poachers are killing wild boars and selling their meat in the country. According to local reports in Nagpur, the meat is selling for Rs80 per kilo and Sambhar meat is also reportedly at butcher shops for Rs100 a kilo. Stressing the situation further are reports that rare birds, including egrets, moor hen and others are being killed and sold on the market in Puducherry. The Indian bullfrog is also being slaughtered for its meat. Animal advocates across the country are demanding an explanation from the government, telling Bikyamasr.com that the oversight that should be in place is not being conducted properly. “This is simply horrible and must be stopped immediately because these animals are supposed to be protected and in the wild,” said Sanil Putra, an animal rights activist in Delhi. Across India, the sale of the meat of wild animals, including jungle cats, jackal, porcupine and other endangered animals, has reached “mammoth proportions and if the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) does not take steps to counter this trade, it will create a dangerous precedent where predator cats, including tiger, leopard and lion, population will have no prey base left to feed on,” a report issued by Belinda Write, the executive director of Wildlife Protection Society of India said. She has filed a notice under Section 55 of the Wildlife Protection Act to update the director of Wildlife, MoEF of this growing problem. “It's a highly organized business being undertaken by small poaching gangs where the meat is being delivered in homes and eateries by motorcyclists who work on a commission basis," she said at a book release forum. Maneka Gandhi, MP and chairperson of People for Animals, stressed that the Wildlife Crime Bureau had to clampdown on the proliferation of urban markets selling wildlife. “No wildlife monitoring systems are in place and the department of forests under the MoEF does not encourage interaction with NGOs," she said. They were speaking at the book release of Protected Animals of India by Sanjay Sondhi published by The Energy and Resources Institute.
