INDIAN EXPRESS (New Delhi, India) 31 October 10 Wildlife dept frees 36 sand boasThe Punjab Department of Wildlife today released 36 red sand boas (domuhi snake) in Hoshairpur. They have been released on the orders of the Court of Ludhiana and Khanna.
Chief Wildlife Warden Gurbaz Singh, Chief Conservator Jatinder Sharma, Punjab State Board for Wildlife members Gurmit Singh and Sandeep K Jain, Conservator of Forests S S Bhatti and a few others were present on the occasion.
It needs to be mentioned that two red sandboas were confiscated four months back in Ludhiana as well and they had been sent to Chattbir Zoo on court orders. They delivered 36 offsprings in the zoo and today their offsprings were released while the adult sand boas are still in the zoo.
It is suspected that it is the handiwork of a nexus of wildlife smugglers. In the grey market they cost lakhs of rupees. Some tantriks are reported to have advised people to rear sand boas for prosperity, said Sandeep Jain, member of the state wildlife board. He said that the mothers of the sandboas should also be released soon. Another red sand boa was confiscated from Khanna; it was also released in the forest today.
Wildlife dept frees 36 sand boas