Jaunpur: In an undercover sting operation, local police from Jaunpur and the Forest Department (Jaunpur Circle) in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh recovered seven kilos of mongoose hair from a gang of illegal wildlife traffickers.

Dinesh Chandra Pandey, Assistant Field Officer of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) assiting in the operation, camped in Jaunpur for three days posing as a decoy customer and approached the kingpin Phoolchand to make an illegal purchase of mongoose hair.

“I offered Phoolchand a huge sum of money for the purchase. He took the bait and readily agreed to offer me the booty at Line Bazaar Jaunpur,” said Pandey.

In a scene straight out of a movie, the police team who was lying in wait at the site intercepted the accused but in the ensuing melee, the gang leader managed to escape. Two of his accomplices, Badri Prasad and Kanta Soankar were, however, apprehended by the police from the site. They are now booked under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 which could easily lead them to a seven year jail term.

Wildlife Trust of India has been following the illegal trade of mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii) hair in the India for the last two years. This seizure at Jaunpur was based on specific information passed to the police by the Wild Enforcement programme of WTI.

WTI enforcement officers believe that there is a well-entrenched network of dealers, poachers and middlemen in Delhi and its adjoining states trading in illegal mongoose hair. Under cover operations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have yielded sizeable hauls of mongoose hair and brushes in the last year.

Mongoose hair was very commonly used by manufacturers of paint brushes for children. A film commissioned by WTI, “A Brush with Death” brought this to light and subsequent lobbying with the government enabled the species to be uplisted from Schedule IV to Schedule II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The film that won the Golden Tree at the Vatavaran Awards in 2002 is used in a campaign to spread awareness among school children on mongoose hair brushes for the last two years.

WTI believes that by educating the end user on alternatives available to mongoose hair and subsequently eliminating the demand, the resultant pressure of poaching on this species is reduced, thus increasing the chances of survival of this species. Sting operations on the side would help enforce the law and bring the culprits to book.