Poachers Butchers Leopard, Court Blinks – Wildlife Protection?
A scathing critique of the light two-year sentence given to leopard poachers in Darjeeling. This article demands stricter punishment and serious legal reform to protect India’s endangered wildlife.
By all that’s sacred in the animal kingdom and decent in society, how on earth is two years of rigorous imprisonment (with a Rs. 25,000 fine, no less — what’s that, the price of a second-hand scooter?) supposed to deter the heartless, greedy poachers who butcher our precious wildlife like it’s a Sunday roast?
Let’s cut to the chase — Pranesh Subba and Anand Tamang, both residents of Ramji Basti in Jorebunglow, cold-bloodedly trapped, killed, skinned, and buried a leopard — an endangered apex predator, mind you, not a stray tomcat. And for this unspeakable crime, they’ve been awarded a sentence so paltry, one might as well slap them on the wrist with a feather duster and send them off with a coupon for jungle safari.
This isn’t justice. It’s a ruddy mockery. A leopard lost its life. A majestic, elusive, gloriously wild creature — snuffed out, skinned, and traded like contraband underpants at a back-alley bazaar. And what do our courts do? Hand out a two-year bed-and-breakfast stint with a possible six-month extension if they don’t cough up a measly fine. Honestly, you get more grief for not paying your taxes on time.
Let’s be clear — these aren’t hapless blokes trying to survive a harsh winter. These are callous opportunists who set an iron trap, buried the evidence, and stashed the skin like treasure in a dusty cupboard. This was not a one-off slip — it was calculated, premeditated, and morally bankrupt.
And before anyone plays the “poverty and ignorance” violin — spare us. If they’re clever enough to skin a leopard, bury the carcass, and stash the hide, they’re clever enough to know it’s illegal.
The Wildlife Protection Act was enacted in 1972, for heaven’s sake. It’s older than most Bollywood actors pretending to be in college. It’s high time we gave it teeth — not dentures. Two years? A leopard loses its life, and they lose 24 months? That’s not justice — it’s a sick joke told at nature’s funeral.
Frankly, we need punishments that make poachers think twice — thrice, even — before stepping foot in the forest with a trap. Life imprisonment, minimum. Confiscation of property. Public naming and shaming. And if that’s too much for your delicate legal sensibilities, how about a mandatory stint in a conservation camp cleaning up big cat dung for a decade or two?
This isn’t just about one leopard. It’s about every tiger, rhino, pangolin, and hornbill staring extinction in the face while we hand down verdicts with all the seriousness of a soggy biscuit. The jungle is not theirs to raid. It’s not ours to barter. It’s a legacy we’re rapidly squandering with soft laws and softer resolve.
So here’s the memo, loud and clear — if you can’t protect our wildlife with righteous fury and iron-clad enforcement, then hand over the gavel to someone who still gives a monkey’s.
Because the leopards are watching. And if they could speak, they’d call us cowards.
What's Your Reaction?
