Mumbai: A tiger skin was seized in May from the house of stud farm owner Cooji Katrak in Malabar Hill, Mumbai, along with a number of other wildlife articles, including ivory carvings, python skins (the python is a Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act of India, 1972), and imported ammunition for four different weapons.
One of these was a .22 rifle fitted with a telescopic sight, along with a box full of imported hollow-point bullets, which are illegal in India. Cooji Katrak was later arrested in the third week of May, and was released on bail after seven days in custody.
Katrak is believed to be a keen hunter, and so are his friends. He was not present at the time of the seizure, but his family claimed that the tiger skin had been registered with the wildlife authority at Thane. They said it was gifted to him by one Mr Feroze Gaira, who had shot the tiger in 1955 in West Khandesh district. However, documents proving the veracity of these claims were not made available.
The opinion of several experts who examined the tiger skin is that it cannot be 45 years old. The claws are translucent, the teeth have not cracked with age, the skin has retained its lustre, the hair has not become loose as it does with age, and there is no sign of fading. All these characteristics are pointers to the skin not being more recent than 5 to 10 years old.
Interestingly, the skin’s khaki cloth backing and felt trimming are almost new, whereas these too fade with age. The cloth backing carries something in writing, or a number, which has been blacked out with ink. This is a sign of concealment of some sort. The writing needs to be examined under ultra violet light.
"This and other seizures lend truth to rumours that the upper crust of society still enjoys going out to hunt," says Ashok Kumar, Trustee of the Wildlife Trust of India. A decade ago an industrialist from Delhi was involved in a hunt in Hastinapur. In Andhra Pradesh, there was the case of the infamous dinner where non-vegetarian dishes made from the meat of protected wildlife species were served.
Tiger hunting was banned in India in 1972, just about a year before Project Tiger was launched to save the big cat, whose population had plumetted to about 1,700 animals. At cocktail parties attended by members of the social elite, the macho boasting of their prowess with a gun, hunting of rare Himalayan species, partridges in Haryana, even tigers, is often heard.
Social acceptance is sought to be created around the issue of killing wild boar, which are described as ‘pests’ but this ignores the fact that if the prey species is wiped out by poachers, the carnivores will eventually turn to domestic animals, or worse, humans. And this would have predictable, tragic consequences.
In the USA, hunting outfits still offer to arrange tiger shoots in India, claiming that "since they eat human beings, you will be doing Indians a favour." Very few among those who hunt protected wildlife species are caught, and due to their connections, convictions are rare. So far, the only
one among them who is in serious legal trouble is the actor Salman Khan.
The Wildlife Trust of India and the Bombay Environmental Action Group assisted the authorities in their task, and will continue to consult experts for their opinion. The most important issue here is support for the investigating team, so that it is not deterred by the pressure to drop proceedings, which invariably follows in such cases.
