The police in Golaghat District, Assam, have arrested four men for the killing of a Leopard earlier this month. The four men, Junmon Gogoi, Raktim Gogoi, Thagiram Gogoi and Nitya Nand Saikia, were arrested on Saturday 18 April 2020 after posting footage of the killing, which happened the day before, on social media. The State of Assam has suffered a series of wildlife crimes during the current Coronovirus Epidemic Lockdown, with at least four Leopards, a Wildcat, and an Elephant having been slain.
A Leopard in Assam. Leopards of Assam/Facebook.
Leopards are considered to be Vulnerable under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, with the Indian subspecies, Panthera pardus fusca,
considered to be particularly vulnerable due to India's rapidly rising
Human population, which has resulted in agriculture and other Human
activities expanding into many former wilderness areas. Trade in Leopard
skins is not completely banned internationally, with CITES allowing
some African countries to issue permits for trophy hunting of the
animals. However, in India Leopards are strictly covered by the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, and owning Leopard body parts will almost always be treated as a criminal offence.
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