New Delhi: A major manufacturer of mongoose hair paintbrushes has been fined Rs 5 lakh for illegally obtaining mongoose hair and manufacturing mongoose hair brushes, according to wildlife officials. Weldon Company of Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, has paid Rs 5 lakh as fine (technically compounding fee) for the offence.

A seizure of mongoose hair and brushes which would have resulted in the death of nearly 50,000 mongooses took place from the premises of Weldon on June 8, 2002 by wildlife and police authorities. Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) assisted in these seizures.

In the first week of June this year, wildlife officials and the police conducted the raids on manufacturers of mongoose hair brushes in Moarabad and Sherkote in Uttar Pradesh, besides Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. The raids yielded over 1,000kg of mongoose hair illegally used by some of the best-known producers of painbrushes brushes in the country, including Weldon Company. These brushes were also being exported.

At that point of time, the mongoose was listed in Schedule IV of Wildlife (Protection) Act and therefore the offence could be compounded by payment of an amount to be determined by wildlife officials. Since December 11, 2002, all mongoose species have been placed in Part II of Schedule II which enhances the penalty to a minimum imprisonment of one year and a fine of rupees five thousand.

Mr Ashok Kumar, Senior Advisor and Trustee, WTI, said, “It is to the credit of wildlife officials that despite pressures, an amount as large as Rs 5 lakh was determined to be the compounding fee. This should sent strong signals to wildlife traders.”

Each animal yields about 20 grams of usable hair after the raw material is cleaned and graded for making brushes. The animals are trapped and then bashed to death or stunned. The hair is then plucked by hand, sometimes when the animal is still alive, and packed in gunny bags and sent to production centres.