MUMBAI MIRROR (India) 25 June 06 Poacher caught for selling endangered lizard’s oil (Bapu Deedwania)

Photo at URL below: Shama Singh, displayed the dead bodies of the lizards he had extracted oil from, and a live one whose spine he broke so it couldn't run away, to sell his 'medicine'

Three youngsters and an Animal Welfare Officer (AWO) caught an animal poacher selling oil extracted from Monitor lizards at Kalwa railway station, near Thane on Saturday. The reptile is protected under the Wild Life Protection Act, and products made using its body parts are illegal.

Friends of animal activists Kishore Sawade ( 21), Richard Mascarenas (22) and John Ballivan ( 20) told the trio about Shama Singh who would carry out his trade out side the station.

The three volunteer for an NGO called the Plant and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).

“We contacted Anuradha Ramaswamy, who is an AWO to guide us,” said Sawade.

The team reached the spot on Saturday afternoon. “We had no problems in locating him — he was sitting with around fifty dead monitor lizards on display on a sheet in front of him. He was also using a live lizard to attract attention of the people,” said Ramaswamy.

“After people gathered to watch him, Singh would hold up a bottle of ‘Sanda ka tel (Sanda’s oil)’ and extol its virtues,” said Mascarenas.

“We were surprised to see that the live lizard did not run away. When we asked him how that was so, he told us that he had broken its spine using his thumb,” adds Ballivan.

The group first took Singh — along with his container of dead lizards, the oil extracted from them and the live one — to the Wild Life department in Thane. They were told that it being a Saturday, nothing could be done.

Disappointed, the group headed to Kalwa Police Station. “We knew we could not keep the live lizard with us, and it was important to get Singh arrested. P J Thakur, a senior inspector at the station assisted us and Singh was booked under sections 9, 39, 40 of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972,” said Ramaswamy.

* How The Oil Is Extracted

Singh purchased live monitor lizards from the Kutch boarder and broke their spinal cords so that they could not escape. He then immersed them in boiling water, while they were still alive. The film of oil that rose to the surface of the water was collected into small vials, and sold for Rs 50 each.
Poacher caught for selling endangered lizard’s oil

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