India: The Valsad district court has remanded to forest department custody an owner of a private farm house in the interior village of Kaprada taluka after he was arrested for illegally keeping two blackbucks. 
Kaprada range forest officials rescued the blackbucks from the farmhouse of Arshad Illyas Khan, 31, at Babra-Khadak village on Tuesday evening. Khan was remanded till September 7 morning. 

Blackbucks are protected under schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, making it illegal to keep it in private confinement. However, Khan had kept the endangered animals at the farm since a long time. 
After receiving specific information, the forest officials ascertained the presence of the protected animals for two days and then conducted a raid. 

Talking to TOI, divisional forest officer (DFO), Valsad range, HS Patel said, “Along with blackbucks, we have rescued six Indian parakeets and two horns of blackbucks. Khan lives with this family at the farmhouse and has a mango orchard with around 800 trees.”

The two blackbucks are two years old and will be released in the wild soon.

“The minimum sentence for illegal captivity of the blackbuck is three years in jail,” the DFO added. A case was registered against Khan under various sections of the Indian Wildlife Act, 1972

Blackbuck is a species of antelope found mainly in India and some parts of Pakistan and Nepal. Rampant hunting resulted in drastic decline in their numbers.

(Source: The Times of India)