Global News - September 2007

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Fighting 'helps endangered Indian animals recover'

Thu 20 September 2007 13:40 UK — Asia

An ongoing hunting ban and the violent insurgency in Indian Kashmir have helped populations of rare animals recover significantly in the region, wildlife officials have claimed.

According to the AFP news agency, a crack down on gun ownership and the risk of being caught in the cross-fire between militants and troops have kept poachers away from the region for the last decade.

The result of this is that the region's population of leopards and black bears have recovered dramatically.

Wildlife warden Rashid Naqash told the agency that rare bird species were also thought to be recovering and that a government study would soon look to quantify these increases.

He added: "The reason being a strict ban on hunting, besides (which), poachers no longer dare to go into the forests for fear of getting caught in the cross-fire between militants and security forces."

However, Mr Naqash said that the increases in predator numbers were also impacting some other species.

He explained that the rare Kashmir stag was increasingly being killed by the resurgent leopards.

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