The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Raid yields large quantity of brushes made of mongoose hair

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 26, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Raid yields large quantity of brushes made of mongoose hair

Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD: For those who have read Rudyard Kipling's `Jungle Book', mongooses are no strangers, with Kipling's `Rikki-Tikki-Tavi' being one of the most famous among the species. But in Hyderabad, the sprightly little snake killers seem to be getting popular for a totally different reason -- their hair.

Their long, thick hair is being used to manufacture paintbrushes, for which the hapless animals are being butchered in large numbers across the country. Already an endangered species, tip-offs on mongoose hair paintbrushes being available in the twin cities prompted a raid by State Forest officials along with representatives of the Wildlife Trust of India and the People for Animals, Haryana.

Stunning find

What they stumbled upon was quite stunning. From just six shops in and around Jambagh and Osmangunj, they got 15,000 paintbrushes, all made of mongoose hair. While the brushes were seized and six persons arrested, the authorities are now trying to trace the route through which the brushes reached Hyderabad.

According to G. Krishna Murthy, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife Regulation), Hyderabad, the accused confessed to having procured the brushes from Delhi. Following this, similar raids are being planned in Delhi too.

"As of now, we have no information on poaching of mongooses in Andhra Pradesh," says Mr. Murthy. However, the possibility is not being ruled out. The mongoose, he informs, is listed under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, as an endangered species, which means killing it or trading it as wildlife trophies or in any other form, is illegal.

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