MP: Wildlife Criminal Arrested With Tiger Bones, Deer Horns

An official on Wednesday confirmed arrest of a poacher hailing from Maharashtra in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district. Officials seized tiger bones and deer horns from his possession. The team seized 8.9 kg of tiger bones and deer horns from the possession of the poacher, Balchand Barkade, a resident of Nagpur in adjoining Maharashtra, he said.

According to Forest Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) SK Jauhri, acting on a tip-off, a joint team of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and the forest department’s Special Task Force (STF) arrested the alleged poacher from Khawasa village located on the borders of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra on late Tuesday night.

Jauhri said during interrogation, the 40-year-old man admitted he had earlier killed 3 to 4 tigers and sold their body parts. It is suspected that Barkade may be part of a gang of wildlife smugglers and poachers active in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and a forest team is working on tracing his associates, he said.

👉Outlook

Species of jumping spider spotted for first time in India

Researchers from the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Tamil Nadu, Christ College, Kerala, and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, have recently documented the first-ever sighting of a spider species — identified as Irura mandarina — in India.

The researchers made this discovery while on a routine arachnological excursion in the Western Ghats, in Sindhudurg district’s Kudal Taluka. “Previously this species was known only from two sites in Vietnam, and one site in southern China,” the researchers note in their paper, published this month in international peer-reviewed arachnology journal Peckhamia.

The Irura mandarina belongs to a larger family of ‘jumping spiders’ called ‘salticidae’. As per existing literature, this family of spiders contains 600 different genera and over 6,000 described species, several of which can be found across the country.

👉Hindustan Times

Expanding oil palm plantation recipe for ecological disaster: Experts

Environmentalists feel that the government’s announcement to expand oil palm plantation in the northeastern states and Andaman & Nicobar Islands will not just lead to an ecological disaster for the fragile biodiversity in those areas, but also cause a social disorder.

The Union Cabinet had last week approved the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP)

While oil palm plantations are not new for both northeast India and A&N Islands, environmentalists are a worried lot as there has been no assessment of the environmental impact of the proposed increase in the plantation area. Amit Kurien, a researcher with Bengaluru-headquartered Ashoka Trust For Research In Ecology And The Environment (ATREE), said, “Purely from an income generation strategy, oil palm may be useful in the short term. But it is widely known to rapidly escalate social and economic disparities within communities. Depending on the site, it can also bring about rapid and permanent changes in tenurial systems that may not be desirable for majority of the rural farmers.”

Globally, palm oil production is affecting at least 193 threatened species, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It has been estimated that oil palm expansion could affect 54 per cent of all threatened mammals and 64 per cent of all threatened birds globally. It also reduces the diversity and abundance of most native species.

👉Webindia123

India’s first MA in animal protection laws: Animal Law Centre is creating changemakers for animals in India

India has a rich tradition of compassion and kindness towards animals. In fact, India is the first place in the world to have a codified law for animal protection. The great king Ashoka (304–232 BC) is the first known king to officially make the welfare of animals a central tenet of his administration, and his rock edicts are the first to articulate basic rights for animals.

India’s animal protection sector is rapidly growing both in importance and size, giving rise to a demand for talent capable of representing the needs of the most vulnerable – animals. To meet the need for trained professionals in this growing field, NALSAR University of Law’s Animal Law Centre launched India’s first M.A. in Animal Protection Laws this year. This two-year course aims to equip students with knowledge on the legal aspects of animal protection – training them in India’s vast animal protection legislation including the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Launched in 2017, the Animal Law Centre was established in collaboration between NALSAR University of Law and Humane Society International/India – an animal protection organization. It offered India’s first P.G. Diploma in Animal Protection Laws in 2019, garnering interest from animal lovers, activists, and professionals in the animal protection sector. The M.A. program is the latest addition to the centre’s, now Advanced Diploma.

👉VeganFirst

Wildlife Institute of India Recruitment 2021: Apply for 52 posts

Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has invited applications for the various posts of Project Associate and Project Assistant. The application process began on August 25 and the last date to apply is September 5.

Interested candidates can check the notification on the official website of the WII at http://wii.gov.in. The initial period of recruitment will be for 6 months which may be extended depending on the candidate’s performance and the project needs.

WII recruitment 2021 vacancy details: This recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 52 vacancies out of which 40 vacancies are for the post of Project Associate and 12 vacancies are for the post of Project Assistant.