Maharashtra's conviction rate in wildlife cases dismal 11.56%

A review of judgments delivered in the last six years shows that of the 147 court orders under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WPA), only 17 have recorded convictions, or a success rate of 11.56%. The low success rates stated above, as well as the judgments themselves, point to serious lacunae in the investigation, documentation, and prosecution of wildlife crime in Maharashtra. Such a low conviction rate has serious implications for the deterrence value of the law.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/States-conviction-rate-in-wildlife-cases-dismal-11-56/articleshow/46179630.cms

Leopard skin seized in Palamau tiger reserve

One leopard skin was seized at Palamau Tiger Reserve area of Jharkhand on 9 February 2015.

Bison killed in Odisha

A man was arrested by forest officers on charges of poaching an Indian bison at Ustapalli forest in Dharakote block of Odisha's Ganjam district on 7 February 2015.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/man-arrested-for-poaching-an-indian-bison-115020900262_1.html

One more leopard killed in Himachal Pradesh

Leopard poaching incidents are increasing in Himachal Pradesh, last week 6 skins were seized in Bilaspur district. In latest incident one leopard caught in trap was died at Solan district.
http://www.jagran.com/himachal-pradesh/solan-12061736.html

Range Officer sentenced to three years imprisonment

A forest range officer was sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment by the court of the special judge for Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh for accumulating assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Forest-ranger-convicted-by-ACB-court/articleshow/46143179.cms

Elephant electrocuted in Uttarakhand

One elephant was electrocuted from a low hanging high tension power line passing through the forest area at Lansdowne forest division of Uttarakhand on 5 February 2015.
http://www.jagran.com/uttarakhand/pauri-garhwal-12048604.html

Leopard skin and bones seized in Uttarakhand

Police officials seized a leopard skin, bones and arrested three people at Devprayag, Tehri district of Uttarakhand on 5 February 2015.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/5657478_3-smugglers-arrested-with-leopard-skin-in-U-Khand.html

Elephant calf killed in road accident

A two-year-old elephant calf was killed by a speeding car on a highway in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district on 3 February 2015.
http://www.ndtv.com/south/elephant-calf-killed-by-speeding-car-736851

Leopard skins seized in West Bengal

Two leopard skins and bones of various animals were seized by forest officials in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal on 4 February 2015.
http://echoofindia.com/jalpaiguri-leopard-skins-bones-seized-77813

Leopard caught in trap at Himachal Pradesh

One leopard caught in leg-hold steel trap placed by poachers was rescued in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh on 3 February 2015.
http://www.jagran.com/himachal-pradesh/kangra-12044188.html

Poachers killed a rhino in Kaziranga, Assam

Poachers suspected to be militants killed a rhino in Kaziranga National Park, Assam on 3 February 2015.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150204/jsp/frontpage/story_11543.jsp#.VNG6N8mE0yJ

Seven held with sand boa in Kerala

7 persons were held with a sand boa in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala on 2 February 2015.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/Held-with-Red-Sand-Boa/2015/02/03/article2649815.ece

13 kgs sea cucumbers seized in Andamans

Forest officials arrested two persons with 13 kg of sea cucumbers at Manglutan, Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 1 February 2015.
http://echoofindia.com/port-blair-13-kgs-sea-cucumbers-seized-manglutan-2-arrested-77646

Karnataka empowers foresters to get call records

Karnataka government has decided to allow forest officials to obtain Call Data Records (CDR) of culprits from telecom service providers. This move, forest officials said, will help them in cracking the whip on poaching activities and help forest officials probe possible role of global networks behind illegal trade in wildlife in Karnataka.
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/Bangalore/Others/Foresters-can-now-get-call-records/articleshow/46088174.cms

Spotted black terrapins seized at India-Bangladesh border

The Border Security Force (BSF) of India seized 185 Spotted black terrapins close to the Indo-Bangla border late on 29 January 2015. The turtles were being smuggled into Bangladesh near the Kalanchi Border Outpost in the Gaighata police station area of North 24-Parganas district, West Bengal.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/46069295.cms