Dharamsala: Trucks load of leopard, fox and otter skins were burnt in several parts of Tibet in the last fortnight in response to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s call to shun wildlife products. Now a 20-minute video of the events has clandestinely reached Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh to inform the public about this new resolve in Tibet.

The film was screened on February 17 at the main temple of His Holiness in the presence of more than 1000 Tibetans. According to a source in Dharamsala about three billion Yuan worth of skins were destroyed so far, on the streets of Amdo, Rebgong, Labrang, Golok, Karze and Lhasa.

Nagpa Tsering who brought the footage from his associates in the Nepal-Tibet border said that the Chinese authorities were confiscating photographic materials from the public who wanted to take pictures. It also involved high risks to bring the video here as people are detained for such acts.

China on February 12 called in troops to prevent the public from burning of endangered animal skins on the streets of Rebgong in the Quinghai province after incidents were reported from other parts. This footage was taken from the Ngawa in the Sichuan province where more than ten thousand people reportedly burned three trucks load of endangered animal skins. Police however were unable to prevent the burning, due to the large crowd. Eight people including two Chinese and six Tibetans were arrested here. This is considered to be the largest collection of animal skins burnt in the last fortnight.

Despite China being a signatory of CITES which prohibit use of endangered wildlife products, the recent ban on the public burning by the authorities seemed to have created an unnecessary political overtone. It also stands to dampen the spirits of those who volunteered to curb this immoral use of animal skins.

His Holiness started a crusade against the immoral use of wildlife products by launching the Tibetan Conservation Awareness Campaign (TCAC) in conjunction with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI and the Care for the Wild International (CWI) in April, last year.

This year at the Kalachakra, the one lakh twenty-five thousand devotees that joined the Dalai Lama, many of whom were from these regions. His Holiness asked them to inculcate love and respect towards all living beings and to conserve wildlife. He said, “when you go back to your respective places, remember what I said, neither ‘use’, ‘sell’ nor ‘buy’ wild animals, their products or derivatives.”

Dr. Barbara Maas, Chief Executive of CWI on His Holiness’s persistent support to the campaign said, “thanks to His Holiness’s dedication to this issue and the honesty and open-mindedness of the Tibetans, that the Kalachakra was not only a deeply meaningful Buddhists event, but will also make a genuine difference by saving the lives of countless wild animals.”

Responding to the positive overtures of the public, Ashok Kumar, Vice Chairman of WTI said, “we will continue to carry this important joint initiative forward at many such opportunities in the future and to the Tibetan and Himalayan communities wherever they are.”

In recent times, many Tibetans were identified to the illegal wildlife trade in India. Successive arrests of several high profile wildlife traders in the last six months including four Tibetans who had links to this clandestine network of traders and middlemen exposed large quantities of endangered animal derivatives that were bought from these networks. In addition, secret routes through which these pelts were sent to Tibet and elsewhere from India have been identified due to the persistent vigil by police.

This current initiative by the Tibetans in India and Tibet would go a long way in the protection of our precious wildlife. The message of His Holiness appears to have created an impact in the minds of thousands of Tibetans that rightfully deserves appreciation.