New Delhi: The State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is running out of time if the shahtoosh stocks in the state have to be declared within six weeks following the order given by Justice Ruma Pal at a hearing of a public interest petition in the Supreme Court on the 16 th November asking for the state of Jammu & Kashmir to ban the manufacture and sale of shahtoosh shawls. An interim order was issued at a previous hearing on 6 th September by the bench directing the Govt. of J&K to obtain an inventory of stocks of shahtoosh shawls and shahtoosh wool from traders in this commodity.

At the hearing on 6 th September, 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 petitioner’s 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.

The Supreme Court had given six weeks to the State of J&K to obtain declaration of stocks from Shahtoosh weavers and traders in the state as required under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978 .

At the hearing, the State of J&K filed a reply asking for six months more because according to them, shahtoosh weavers were spread all over J&K including Ladakh and Jammu regions and not one of them had responded to the public notice published in two newspapers asking for declaration of stocks.

Ashok Kumar 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.

At the hearing on 16 th November, Ashok Kumar ‘s counsel San jay Parikh argued that six months was too long a period and the time allowed was reasonable.  However, the bench comprising of Justice Ruma Pal did not agree to the prayer of the counsel of the State of J&K and granted only six weeks to the state to obtain the stock position. The case will now be listed after six weeks. The Court also permitted the Petitioner to file a rejoinder to the reply of the State of J&K.

“More interesting was the first appearance in court of the representatives of the Shahtoosh Weavers Association, who were given four weeks to file their reply. The association has been a party to the case but had chosen not to make an appearance so far”, said Ashok Kumar who was present at the hearing.

In a unique door-to-door survey done with over 45,000 people in the Kashmir valley, WTI and IFAW have compiled a complete census 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.

Recent statements by Kashmir leaders on promoting shahtoosh at trade fairs and the captive breeding of Tibetan antelopes called chiru have however not been reflected in the State of J&K”s submission to the Supreme Court of India.

Now that Union of India and the State of J&K have filed their replies and the weavers association will do so in four weeks, further hearings in the case promise to be substantive.

In another development, CITES Management Authority, Government of China has written a letter to CITES Management Authority of India earlier this month pointing out the decline in population of Tibetan antelope due to poaching in Tibet resulting from a demand of its wool for weaving and trade in shahtoosh shawls.

China acknowledged the effort of Indian government but requested India to eliminate any production and trade in shahtoosh. The letter also points out that it is impossible to collect the wool of Tibetan antelope from the wild in the vast, windy and harsh Qinghai-Tibet plateau laying to rest the misconceptions of those who believe that the wool that is rubbed off bushes is collected to weave shahtoosh shawls and those who termed the campaign to save the chiru a disinformation campaign.

Shahtoosh is in fact not a domestic issue concerning J&K state. Over 90% of the Tibetan antelope or chiru population is found in the Tibetan autonomous region and Qinghai province of China . The wool of the chiru is smuggled into India in violation of 166 signatories to CITES and the laws of India . At the CITES Conference of Parties (CoP-13) held in Thailand in October, conservation of Tibetan antelope was debated, progress was noted and more effective steps for its conservation were stressed.