6th April, 2003

The Delhi State Wildlife Department seized 215 kg of raw shahtoosh wool on 6 April 2003 from a truck that had arrived from Pithoragarh in Uttranachal. The truck was carrying 132 sacks of which 11 contained shahtoosh while the rest had sheep wool. According to the officials the truck was on its way to Majnu Ka Tila in Delhi. It had halted in Haldwani where some sacks were unloaded. Three persons, including the driver, have been arrested and attempts are being made to get more information on the delivery made in Haldwani.

The shahtoosh seized represented the killing of about three thousand Tibetan Antelope. The species is classified as an endangered species and is listed under Appendix I of CITES (the United Nation’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). It is also listed under Schedule I of The Wild Life (Protection) Act in India, and as a Class I protected animal in China’s Wildlife Protection Law.

It is interesting to note that Pithoragarh on the Indo-Nepal border and its corresponding areas on the Nepal side have had some important wildlife seizures in the recent times, especially those of leopard skins. Investigations have revealed that tiger and leopard skins and bones are bartered for raw shahtoosh wool on the Indo-Tibetan border.