Criminals seeking to kill endangered and protected animals would be wise to stay away from the Maharashtra state in central-western India. The local government has decided to take extreme action to curb poaching with a controversial new policy – it’s announced that it will no longer be considered a crime to injure or kill suspected poachers.
Forest guards should not be “booked for human rights violations when they have taken action against poachers,” Maharashtra Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam said Tuesday to the Associated Press.
To further empower the fight against poaching, the new order also established a fund worth about five million rupees (USD $90,000) that will go toward secretly paying informers who supply tips about poachers and animal smugglers. Read more….