Art is killing the mongoose

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Copyright 2006 HT Media Ltd.

 

 

Hindustan Times

June 29, 2006 Thursday 1:11 PM EST

 

Art is killing the mongoose

 

NEW DELHI, India

NEW DELHI, India, June 29 -- Add the mongoose to the list of species

that are slowly dying out. And it's art that's killing this animal.

Mongoose hair is used to make paint brushes and over 14,000 animals

are estimated to have been killed to manufacture brushes that were

seized during raids in the past one month.

 

Once seen almost everywhere in the country, the mongoose is now the

new favourite among poachers. A Wildlife Institute of India study

has reported a huge fall in the mongoose population, resulting in

the Ministry of Environment and Forest putting the animal in the

second schedule of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The penalty

for killing a mongoose and a tiger is now similar, an official said.

But this has not deterred poachers from killing the animal as

enforcement is poor. " A poacher earns Rs 200-250 for a mongoose.

Mongoose hair fetches Rs 450-500 for a trader. This is the cost of

the animal in India, " said Ashok Kumar, vice-chairperson, Wildlife

Trust of India.

 

The seizure of about 18,000 paintbrushes in Hyderabad on Saturday

indicates that the trade is moving south, after spreading its wings

in the north. " We were able to see that brushes made from mongoose

hair were on sale in 350-400 shops, including furniture shops

selling export quality goods. We zeroed in on six shops where sales

were the most, " said Naresh Kadiyan of People for Animals, who got

the raids conducted with the help of the wildlife department of the

state government.