An Official Reports the Arrest of 10 'Violating' Environmental Groups in Lorestan

An environmental official from Lorestan province reported on Wednesday, February 19, the arrest of 10 'violating' environmental groups and the seizure of 11 legal and illegal hunting firearms this week. According to the news website Khabaronline, Kamran Farmanpour, the director of the Environmental Protection Agency of Lorestan province, stated that these 'ten violating environmental groups' were arrested in the cities of Khorramabad, Silakhor, Delfan, Chaghni, the White Mountain Wildlife Refuge of Azna, and the protected area of White Mountain Khorramabad. He added that hunters used both legal and illegal firearms, and 'the carcass of a wild pigeon and several caught fish were discovered and seized.' Farmanpour further noted that the cases of all violators have been referred to judicial authorities for legal proceedings after the initial report was prepared, and the seized equipment will be kept in custody at the Environmental Protection Agency of the province until a final ruling is issued. Previously, a brown bear, an endangered species of Iran's wildlife, was killed after being hit by several passing vehicles on the incomplete Qazvin-Tonekabon road. In recent years, many reports have emerged regarding accidents involving passing vehicles colliding with valuable animal species such as leopards, bears, and wild goats on the Qazvin-Tonekabon route, turning this road into a threatening location for Iran's wildlife. Another dangerous road for endangered species in Iran is the Tehran-Mashhad road, which has become a 'killing ground' for the Iranian cheetah. A significant part of the 'migration corridor' for the Asiatic cheetah lies along the Tehran-Mashhad route, and 'road accidents involving vehicles and cheetahs' have made several of them victims of human interference in nature in recent years. Meanwhile, over the past two decades, several environmental activists in Iran, including those involved in the national project for the protection of the Iranian cheetah, have faced governmental crackdowns from various institutions of the Islamic Republic, with some being arrested. The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that the cause of death for the Damavand leopard was 'COVID-19.' The head of the Environmental Protection Agency warned that 43% of wetlands are at risk of drying up.