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Cops Better Equipped to Protect Rare Species
The might of Qinghai-Tibet anti-poaching cops who face a harsh environment and well-armed poachers is expected to be redoubled this year after the donation of some much needed equipment Monday.
During a ceremony held by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) in Beijing, equipment worth more than 1.3 million yuan (US$156,626) from SFA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare were handed over to police from western China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the home of Tibetan antelope or chiru - an endangered species plagued by poaching for the illegal shahtoosh fur market outside China.
The equipment given to aid the fight against poachers armed to the teeth in areas surrounding the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve in Qinghai included long-distance searchlights, police patrol jeeps, bullet-proof jackets, portable global positioning systems (GPS), vidicons, telescopes and high quality rifles for sharp-shooters.
During Monday's ceremony, Grace Gabriel, director for the Chinese branch of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), an international organization dedicated to protecting animal rights, also contributed equipment worth more than 500,000 yuan (US$60,000) to 15 forest police stations in Qinghai, Xinjiang and Tibet.
The donation, the largest from IFAW since 1988, included generators, radios, GPS sets, night vision goggles, cameras, telescopes, tents and sleeping bags.
Ma Fu, SFA's deputy-director, said he hopes forest police in western regions can intensify the crackdown on poaching of Tibetan antelopes with the new equipment.
To aid police in western chiru habitats, SFA has allocated 2 million yuan (US$240,963) of funds for their protection, Ma said, adding that 800,000 yuan (US$96,385) was spent in purchasing special equipment badly needed by local police.
The funds were the strongest official assistance given to police following a large-scale anti-poaching effort launched in the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve last spring, also known as the "No 1 Action of Hoh Xil."
"Tibetan antelope are the typical victims of large scale commercial exploitation. The species is in grave danger of extinction if we do not stop the massive poaching soon," Gabriel warned.
The number of Tibetan antelopes has dropped from some 100,000 to 20,000 or less in recent years due to massive poaching financed by overseas groups who use the fur to make shahtoosh shawls, which can sell for thousands of dollars in London, Paris, New York and Hong Kong.
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