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The poachers were caught moments after getting 700,000 roubles (US $8,834) cash for selling pelts, fangs, claws and bones of two Red Book Amur tigers to a buyer outside Russia. Picture: FSB Primorye
Two men aged 51 and 57 who were in business of illegally hunting and selling protected Amur tigers were detained as a result of a lengthy joint operation by the regional FSB security service and specialists from the Amur Tiger Centre.
They were caught moments after getting 700,000 roubles (US $8,834) cash for selling pelts, fangs, claws and bones of two Red Book Amur tigers to a buyer outside Russia.
Names of the men and the details of the operation are not fully disclosed, but there is an understanding that the buyer was likely to be in China.
This is the third case in less than six months in which the endangered predators fall victims of poachers.
The Amur tiger is the world’s largest cat and is gradually recovering from the verge of extinction. Pictures: FSB Primorye
‘Special operations of such level are rare because such well-hidden criminal groups are very hard to detect.
FSB officers spent days to uncover the criminals’, said Sergey Aramilev, general director of Amur Tiger Centre.
The poachers are to face charges under article 258.1 of Russian Criminal Code, illegal poaching and trade of Red Book animals, and potentially face from five to seven years in jail.
This is the third case in less than six months in which the endangered predators fall victims of poachers, with an Amur tigress (top) and an Amur tigers slained in July and September 2020
The Amur tiger is the world’s largest cat and is gradually recovering from the verge of extinction.
Less than 600 adult animals - 95% of the world population - live in the Primorsky, Khabarovsk, Amur and Jewish Autonomous regions in eastern Russia.
Pictures below: Amur Tiger Centre
Archeologists discovered a new stone bracelet, two sharp pins, a marble ring and fox tooth pendants.
Comments (5)
Congratulations though, to the FSB officers and Tiger Centre involved in the months of in depth investigation to at least catch this scum in their dealing act. Of course optimal would have been to have caught them before their illegal poaching acts. However it's better than having these criminals run riot and free...