India:  Forest officials in Theni seized a tiger skin and a sambar deer skin along with a taxidermied pangolin from the Cardamom Planters Union School in Cumbum on Friday.

Forest department sources said TRAFFIC, the wildlife crime control wing of the WWF-I, informed them that the school had displayed the tiger and sambar deer skins and other trophies. Acting on the info, forest officials conducted a raid in the school.

Cumbum wildlife ranger Karnan told the TOI that the trophies and the skins were donated to the school by former physical education teacher Ganapathy in 1957. Since then they had been displayed in the school. However, the school authorities had no evidence to show that the trophies were donated to them by a former teacher.

A case under various sections of Wildlife Protection Act has been filed against the school authorities for possessing the trophies without licence, he added.

(Source: Times of India)