I am sure many of us would not even be aware of the fact that leopards exist in Afghanistan. It is very hard to imagine wildlife population in those war ravaged terrains. As a matter of fact snow leopard, which is a very rare and exotic breed of leopards, does exist there. But they are probably not going to last long. According to recent reports, poaching has increased alarmingly in recent time due to the influx of foreign workers and tourists who pay high prices for the fur coats and skins of the leopards. Although hunting is legally prohibited, the poor Afghans don’t hesitate to break the law as they can probably earn more money in poaching compared to any other regular job. Poached goods are sold openly even in Kabul markets.
The real problem lies in the unfortunate history the country has witnessed over the last few decades. Civil war and foreign invasions have ruined the economy and demolished the administrative framework. Poverty is forcing people to commit such crimes and actually they can’t be blamed. At the same time, the law and order system is not strong enough to control this phenomenon. The human life itself has become very cheap in Afghanistan, so hardly anyone thinks of the animals. Also the influx of refugees, the explosives and heavy artillery used in the war have severely damaged the flora and fauna.
According to estimates, there are around 100-200 snow leopards remaining in Afghanistan. So they can be wiped out very soon. All eyes are now set on Wakhan Corridor in northern Afghanistan. It is a very sparsely populated area that is close to Pakistan, China and Tajikistan borders. Snow leopards are basically found in this area and they also keep moving from one country to another through this route. There has to be better facilities and vigil in this inhospitable terrain. The international community however has taken a note of this impending disaster. The U.S. embassy is concentrating on the potential buyers to convince them not to buy such goods which is probably a good strategy of attacking the demand itself. The US military is also carrying out raids and confiscating poached goods. But only time would say whether they would succeed or not as the numbers are already very low!
Image
Source Red Orbit