Man held in Gudalur for illegal possession of wildlife trophies

The accused has been identified as S. Nandagopal, sources said. Acting on a tip off, a team led by P. Arumugam, Gudalur Range Officer conducted searches in the house of accused, which is located on Palanivel Pillai Street, and seized trophies, sources said. The team found a small piece of tusk, two nails of tiger, two packets of peacock feathers and two horns of deer stashed in a cloth bag somewhere in the house, Arumugam said. The trophies of these wild animals are categorized as endangered wildlife and listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, he said. Investigations are on on to find whether the accused Nandagopal is a first time or habitual offender. Any offender charged with illegal possession of wild animal trophies could face imprisonment of three to the maximum of seven years as per the Wildlife Protection Act. The seized trophies would be destroyed after obtaining permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden as per formal procedures, he said.