KARACHI, March 16: Rangers have arrested an illegal trapper and recovered 16 young chinkara deer from his possession in Chhachhro, Tharparkar, it is learnt.

The trapper, a retired police official, Mohammed Rahim, was taking these protected mammals from Chhachhro to Umerkot when he was apprehended by the Rangers.

The Rangers handed these animals and the trapper over to Lajpat Sharma, Assistant Conservator of Sindh Wildlife at Mithi.

As the calves were young and very weak they were first provided cow milk, but eight of them died. Later goat milk was arranged, but the rest of the eight were also stated to be in precarious condition.

The wildlife official said the illegal trapper had been released on bail. He said eight young deer had died as there were no rehabilitation facilities where the young mammals could be kept till a decision for their disposal was taken. A First Offence Report (FOR) — wildlife department’s equivalent of the FIR — has been registered.

Trapping of and poaching chinkara deer is banned under the Sindh Wildlife Protection Act and the violators could be sentenced to six months in jail with a fine of up to Rs150,000.

A few years ago the department had arrested illegal traders and recovered thousands of reptiles of rare species, etc from them. A large number of these reptiles died because rather than releasing these reptiles in the wild in time, these were kept in the same bags in which the traders had kept them. Many of them suffocated and died in the wildlife conservator’s office.