New Delhi : In a significant step today, the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order directing the Govt. of J&K to obtain an inventory of stocks of shahtoosh shawls and shahtoosh wool from traders in this commodity. Such a declaration of stocks will open a can of worms because the next question would be the source of the raw material and the method by which it was acquired.

Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) had filed a case in the Supreme Court last year asking for the state of Jammu & Kashmir to ban the manufacture and sale of shahtoosh shawls which was going on in Kashmir despite inclusion of Tibetan antelope in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act in May 2002. India ‘s obligation to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was also violated by this trade.

Union of India and State of J&K wanted more time to file a reply but the double bench of Supreme Court headed by Justice Ruma Pal heard the petition titled “Ashok Kumar Vs. State of J&K” and agreed with the WTI counsel that at least the extent of the problem should become known and the traders should declare their stocks as required by law and report to the court at the next hearing.

“We contend that all the stock of raw shahtoosh wool is obtained by smuggling of the wool from Tibet ( China ),” said Mr. Ashok Kumar, senior adviser and trustee of WTI.

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Wildlife Trust of India have carried out a long term campaign “Say No to Shahtoosh” and at the same time undertaken other programmes to bring about a ban on weaving and sale of shahtoosh shawls.

In a unique door-to-door survey done with over 45,000 people in the Kashmir valley, WTI and IFAW have compiled a complete list of the ban-hit Shahtoosh workers. The survey, which conducted structured interviews with at least 45,000 people for over a year, revealed that a maximum of 15,000 people were involved in the Shahtoosh production process, with the largest segment being women.

The survey titled Beyond the Ban: A Census of Shahtoosh Workers in Jammu & Kashmir, has strongly recommended that an appellation of origin for the unique weaving skills of the artisans of Kashmir valley be created, which will help them produce an exclusive handcrafted product that will command higher prices and at the same time provide employment to all segments of Shahtoosh workers hit by the ban.

WTI and IFAW have been leading the campaign against shahtoosh in India , China and the western markets for the last five years. The Supreme Court interim order asking for declaration of stocks of shahtoosh shawls from traders is half way to the goal of obtaining an order that the state of J&K should control the illegal trade in shahtoosh shawls and this will greatly assist the conservation of Tibetan antelope, which is under increasing threat of extinction.