Iran Court Sentences Leopard Hunters To Jail

Tehran, Aug 7, IRNA - A court in northeastern Iran has sentenced two people to six-month prison terms and the payment of 50-million-rial ($1,700) fine for killing a Persian leopard. Mohammad Mazloum-Panah, an official with Khosaran Razavi Department of Environment (DoE), said Wednesday that the court’s verdict follows a complaint lodged by the DoE against the two villagers who killed the leopard in a village near the city of Taybad, Thursdayˈs edition of ˈIran Dailyˈ said in its Upside/Downside column. Mazloum-Panah also called for tougher laws to punish poachers. The Persian leopard, also called the Caucasian leopard, is the largest leopard subspecies, and is native to northern Iran, eastern Turkey, the Caucasus, southern Turkmenistan, and parts of western Afghanistan. It is endangered throughout its habitat with fewer than 871–1,290 mature heads remaining and a declining trend in population./end