MP: Man held for chopping off paws of leopard that died in snare laid for pigs

The forest department arrested a 35-year-old man on Wednesday for allegedly chopping off two paws of a leopard that died after getting entangled in a snare laid to hunt pigs in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh, an official said.The two paws of the leopard, an air gun and sharp weapons were recovered from the arrested accused, identified as Dinesh, he said.

The forest department arrested a 35-year-old man on Wednesday for allegedly chopping off two paws of a leopard that died after getting entangled in a snare laid to hunt pigs in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh, an official said.

The two paws of the leopard, an air gun and sharp weapons were recovered from the arrested accused, identified as Dinesh, he said. Talking to reporters, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Pradeep Mishra said the accused had laid a snare for pig-hunting on a forest fence in Garhi, about 35 km from the district headquarters, but a three-year-old male leopard got entangled in it on November 29.

The leopard died due to suffocation while struggling to escape from the snare made from a motorcycle clutch wire, he said.

After the leopard's death, the accused chopped off both of its front paws with an axe and also attempted to extract two teeth of the wild animal, he added. ''The accused believed he could earn money by selling the leopard's nails to people practising witchcraft,'' Mishra said. According to him, a detailed investigation is underway into the case.

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