The Centre has drafted a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to ensure a tiger or leopard carcass is disposed of without leaving scope for pilferage. The National Tiger Conservation Authority has written to states with tiger ranges that all body parts of a dead tiger,including bones,must be incinerated in presence of a field officer,members of the post-mortem team and representatives from a civil society institution,and the incineration photographed and videographed. The photographs and the video as well as a panchnama on the disposal the carcass,signed by the post-mortem team and the officer in-charge,have to be sent to NCTA,the SOP stated. In case the tiger parts have been seized,these must be kept safe as they may be required as evidence. Once such orders come by,the complete incineration,photographed and videographed and recorded in a panchnama must be reported- the SOP details. All seized stock of wildlife trophies also must be similarly disposed of. The SOP,drafted on the basis of inputs from field officers and experts to meet the present challenges,was issued on March 18. It follows the global wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC and WWF Tigers Alive Initiatives report titled Reduced to Skin and Bones Revisited and shared at a recent Convention International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora meeting in Bangkok that tiger and leopard poaching and illegal trade in their claws,teeth and bones was still thriving in countries with tiger populations. The five hotspots of illegal trade in tiger parts in India are Ramnagar near the Corbett Reserve Park,Balaghat and Jabalpur near Kanha and Pench National Parks,Kolkata and areas near the Sunderbans and the Sathyamangalam National Park. Delhi is also reported to be one of the most active centres of this illegal trade.
