Arrest of Members of a 'Wildlife Killing Gang' in Southern Iran

The Environmental Protection Agency of Kerman Province has reported the arrest of 'members of a professional wildlife killing gang' after 'a large number' of images of killed wild animals were discovered on their mobile phones. The official news agency of the Islamic Republic, IRNA, quoted Mahmoud Safdarzadeh, the director general of the Environmental Protection Agency of Kerman Province, on June 15, stating that these individuals had been identified months ago, and investigations began after images of them were published, leading to their recent arrests. The number of those arrested is unclear, but this official stated that they had 'killed hundreds of wild mammals and birds' in the provinces of Fars, Kerman, and Hormozgan over the past few years. According to the report, following their arrest, they admitted to hunting three gazelles, whose carcasses were found in their vehicle. The gazelle is a native species primarily found in the desert, southern, and eastern regions of Iran. However, after the police decrypted the mobile phones of the arrested individuals 'after a week,' they encountered 'a large number of images of the killing of various wild animals.' The Environmental Protection Agency of Kerman Province has submitted the relevant images for judicial proceedings and investigations regarding the methods and locations of hunting these animals to the court. The images obtained from the suspects' mobile phones led to their summons, and they were detained without bail until the case is completed, despite having been released on bail previously. No further details about the suspects have been released, and investigations into the number and species of the killed animals are ongoing. At the end of the previous solar year, the organization 'Iran Animal Rights Watch' expressed concern about the 'unprecedented growth of wildlife trafficking' over the past 10 years in Iran, describing the state of wildlife as 'critical.' At that time, Shahram Sharifi, the director of this organization, stated that 95% of Iran's animal population had 'disappeared' over the past half-century. Additionally, various reports have emerged in recent years about the killing of endangered animals in Iran, sometimes accompanied by the publication of 'selfies' of hunters with their kills on social media. In just the first three weeks of this year, at least four leopards were killed in Iran. The Iranian leopard is one of the largest subspecies, or the largest subspecies of leopard, whose population is endangered.