The Jammu and Kashmir government may be forced to ban the trade in the exotic shahtoosh shawl in the state following a judgement in this connection by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
The court on a petition by a voluntary organisation Wildlife Protection Society of India has directed the state government to regulate trade in shahtoosh and its shawls, asking it to take action against the offenders.
The judgment thus gives a fresh lease of life to the highly endangered Tibetan antelopes, from whose underwool the exotic shawls are made for which the animals are generally slaughtered.
Protection of the animal is given highest priority under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which lists it in its Schedule I. It is also listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. But the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Protection Act does not treat it as a protected animal and allows its hunting on obtaining licence for the purpose.