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(English) 18 leopards killed within 1 year

An official at DFO inspects a body of leopard suspected of poisoning. file photo: Agency
An official at DFO inspects a body of leopard suspected of poisoning. file photo: Agency

KATHMANDU, Nepal–At least 18 leopards have been found dead in the forest of Pokhara since the past year, thanks to the government’s apathy to curb illegal poaching and retaliatory action of the human against big cat .

With the lack of veterinary specialising on the treatment of wild animals, the death toll is rising at an alarming rate, according to the District Forest Office in Kaski.

“Most of these big cats were found dead at separate locations in the district,” assistant DFO Madhav Prasad Baral was quoted by Kantipur daily adding that those found injured or in a sick state died for want of treatment.

The figure of the DFO showed that 18 leopards were found dead between August 2013 and August 2014. The injured or ailing leopards are often found roaming in the human settlements seeking of easy prey.

Few months ago, around half a dozen leopards were found dead in the district within a week. The leopard had taken the poison, perhaps the human might mixed at the carcass, clearly a retalitary action against wild beasts as the latte entered human settlement to prey their livestock.

Forest officials nodded that incidents of wild animals being killed by feeding them carcasses of domestic animals mixed with medicines are increasing recently.

According to the existing laws, a person found to have poached wildlife will be sentenced to two years in jail and fined Rs 10,000.

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