Cabinet approves setting up of wildlife crime control bureau

The Union Cabinet on May 31 approved the constitution of a multidisciplinary wildlife crime control bureau that would detect and prosecute networks and individuals engaged in poaching tigers and other endangered species.

The body called the Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau will maintain a database on wildlife items and trade, and help convict criminals and their accomplices at national and international levels.

The body will strengthen the ongoing efforts to control poaching and illegal trade and will also facilitate training of field staff in intelligence gathering, crime detection and prosecution. With its headquarters at New Delhi, the bureau will have five regional offices and three sub-regional offices.

In a separate incident, the Madhya Pradesh forest department recently seized tiger bones and claws, antlers and skins of herbivores, and an unlicensed 315 bore rifle from the state's Panna district.The animals were most likely killed in the Panna National Park.