Mairaj Ahmed Khan committed a crime against wild animals

[jatindra Singh Deo]

thats a sambhar for sure n not a hog dear

[prashantsingh]

The first snap (at 1:53) is the only one in which the animal appears big enough. That is simply because of the way it has been clicked. Closer from the animal than the poacher.
Check out the ones at 2:02 , 2:23 , 2:30 ,2:56 , 3:06. It is a rather small deer. Just not big enough for Sambhar. Sambhar is the largest deer in India and the second largest in the world.
Sambhar antlers are much thicker and branch outward. Even if this were a young Sambhar the antlers would be very different.
This is a beautiful , full grown , mature Hog deer. Probably the largest size they grow to.

[Kazim]

i cant understand the thinking of these so called wildlife protectors like Menka gandhi,i think we know that many predators like leopard hunt more than they need on this these wildlife protectors say that this is their right to hunt but what about humans the first human astralopithacus was a hunter and we are more older than these modern predators so its also our right to hunt.Nowadays some wild animals are too much overpopulated that they have made farmer's life a nightmare.Because mairaj ahmed have killed an endangered species and also commercialized it so i condemn the act

[Vikram]

It is unfortunate that evidence of his trophy got into the hands of so called protectors of wild life. Invariably all the shooters at all the levels, are hunters by instinct. It is an instinct passed on from the day of our existence in the forest. All the IFGians, I think have it in their genes. Let us not shy away from the hard truth and deny the fact. What is in the genes cannot be forbidden by laws. Istead of we having laws forbidding what is running in our blood could ennact laws which can rationalize and give vent to the instincts in a rational way. It is not buy hunters that we are loosing the wild life. Every one knows why?. Why cannot the so called protectors expose them all and give the media Blast? Charlatans!!

Ravindrane,

With due respect, while I agree with the general line of your thinking, I disagree with some of your words expressed above.

It is NOT unfortunate that his "trophy" got into the hands of others.Good or bad, the law is there and it needs to be followed.If he broke the law and that's the genuine evidence, he has to pay the price.

While hunting has been part of human life from eternity, in this age there are many who make a conscious choice not to hunt and that includes many gun owners.You will find many such members on IFG who do not hunt or support it even where hunting is allowed and legal. While I disagree with them,I respect their choice.

Your words suggest that you think that many legal gun owners hunt.Please correct me if I am wrong. There are many things that are instinctual but forbidden by law and we obey those laws.Hunting is no exception.Legal gun owners are not different.Like any other group or individuals, they obey the law and the compliance is commensurate with the rest of the society,if not the compliance is higher.

You are right about laws alone being unable to protect the wildlife and legal hunting not being the cause of its decimation.It's a shame that the authorities and wildlife conservation groups do not realise or accept the positive role that legalised and sustainable hunting can play in the protection and conservation of wildlife. The rabblerousers and self-serving intellectual hypocrites unfortunately do not allow reason to prevail.

Best-
Vikram

PS: Did anyone hear in the youtube video how casually Mairaj was accused of having terrorist connections? Wildlife offences in the face of the evidence is understandable.Terrorist?

[lakecity_shooter]

Dear all, i am curious to know that is there a chance in future of legalising hunting in future in india ..???????????

I love hunting but the law stops me ........

[Hammerhead]

I haven't read everyone's comments and watched minute and half of video only .

Hunting is illegal in Any Country the way He did it

Rest of the Muneka Gandhi Drama is BS

Move on - Haji

[abmehta]

I think we are all jumping the gun here.
A man is innocent till proven otherwise.
Lets keep it at that.
Photographs on a television network can only go so far.
Let the police find out something substantial and then the character bashing start.
That much is every individuals due.

[winnie_the_pooh]

The fellow is clearly involved in something illegal.He is also clearly stupid as he is the one who was collecting evidence against himself.He will face punishment if he has done something wrong.He is not the first one from the shooting fraternity who has been caught thus.Sometime back there was another shooter from Chandigarh who had been charged after photos of his were found showing him on a hunt.The photos have been clearly taken at night.So the fellow must be using lamps.Not very sporting,you would agree.

As far as Maneka is concerned,she is clearly loony.Her demand for a CBI probe because,amongst other things,Mairaj maybe involved in terrorist activities,shows that she is close to being institutionalized.Should the shooting fraternity be worried? Certainly yes.This is the sort of thing that people like Maneka thrive on.She will try to use this incident to declare that all shooters are like this.The other lady talks of 'skills' the shooter acquired that have been used for hunting It is not like you need a degree to shoot well.The TV channels opening lines 'apney log,apney hee janwar or videshi bandooken' harks back to the 'videshi haath' theory behind anything wrong happening in the country.

[essdee1972]

The issue whether Mairaj is guilty or innocent is besides the point. A case has been registered, the law will take it's own course. Hopefully. Current wildlife rules do not have very stringent penalties. Hence a guy shooting a rabbit / pigeon for the first time in his life is subject to the same penalties as the notorious Mr. Sansar Chand.

The issues are:
1. Whether the media trial and political pressure will allow the case to be heard fairly. Most likely scenario will be that Maneka will forget the issue (she's after all, borderline senile, if not positively certifiable). And India TV being India TV, will find a million other "sansani"s involving videshi / swadeshi haath / any other part. Similarly, the CBI is so overworked with Mrs. G's political colleagues and the massacre they have made of this country, they are highly unlikely to have enough free time to be involved. So, most likely the case will be forgotten, except by the court, and suddenly when the verdict comes (if Mr. Khan doesn't die of old age before then), people will suddenly remember the case. Remember the same happening with Salman Khan's blackbuck episode?

2. I think there is a bit of profiling happening here, too (Maneka being in the political party she is, she can't help it) - I don't think Mairaj would have been accused so easily of having terrorist links if his religion had been different. Which makes the entire saga even more sordid.

3. The vilification of shoooters in general. The most serious impact which can happen. Just as Vikram says above, many shooters do not hunt - out of choice, even in areas where hunting is permitted. Some have given up, others have never hunted. Me, I never even think of using the airgun on a bird or squirrel (even if I can get 'em to sit still!). As a backup strategy, these people can get together and publish their feelings / experiences. Maybe India TV's competitors would be interested? Just to prove that shooters are not necessarily hunters. Just like all martial artists / boxers / wrestlers do not go about bashing people up.

EssDee

[sat]

This report show the staggering loss of wildlife to poaching.
Quote from an article - Mangement of Over Abundant Ungulate Populations - H S Pabla, Principal Chief Conservator (PCCF-Wildlife) http://www2.wii.gov.in/envis/ungulatesofindia/abundant.htm

"Scale of Poaching
In a study, conducted in 1996-97, published in Ambio, Ulhas Karanth and Madhusudan have reported poaching levels of 216 hunter days per month per village, involving 26 species, around Kundremukh National Park in Karnataka. The same study reported regular hunting of 16 species around Nagarhole National Park. Hunters supply meat to nearby towns in Karnataka and Kerala. If that is the norm for the rest of the country as well, keeping in mind the number of villages situated in the forest areas, poaching must be treated as a bigger threat to wildlife than even the habitat loss. Applying this norm to MP, and presuming that a hunter must be earning at least 100 rupees per day for his work, the poachers are earning around Rs. 600 crore per annum. This is nearly double of the annual revenue of the forest department. If this is an exaggeration, one can apply one’s own correction factor to arrive at an acceptable figure. The loss is still mind boggling. Who are we fooling by putting a ban on hunting?"


An interesting read (long) posted on IFG in 2006.
‘USE IT OR LOSE IT’: THE MANTRA FOR MAN-ANIMAL CO-EXISTENCE - Dr H.S. Pabla
http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=194&start=15#p4922


Community-Based Sport Hunting for Conservation of Wildlife -
Dr. H.S. Pabla IFS, then Chief Conservator of Forests
http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=194&start=15#p4923

[Vikram]

Winnie,Esdee and Sat, excellent posts.


Best-
Vikram

[gverma]

I would suggest we do not past a verdict against the guy on this forum. This is something that the Judiciary will do.

[shooter]

+1 Prashantsingh it IS a hog deer.

+1 vikram, essdee, sat,wtp, haji.

Menkaji asking why is he in doha. (implying for terrorist activities) Doesnt she know why.

[Nitro Express]

It is a an adut male hog deer.

[prashantsingh]

It is a an adut male hog deer.

I can not believe that those forest guys could not identify it correctly. Looks like they need to spend more time in the jungles than in their offices.