In the Pulwama, Jammu,where the villages are bordered with thick forests, the big cats are not a rare sight. The villagers often see snow leopards take a stroll in and out of the jungle. However, in Picho, this was not what happened. The villagers who were used to these wild cats, chased it and cornered it, followed by the leopard to be shot at a point blank range with 20 bullets.

The snow leopards are often chased after by the animal lovers for its rare sight. Experts are of the opinion that the animal could have been barricaded and there was no use to kill. The other side of the story being that the Wildlife Department in Pulwama has no staff and would have to wait to arrive it from another part of Kashmir.

Eventually the police showed up and opened the fire with their AK-47 rifles killing the helpless snow leopard. The justification given by the Police Special Superintendent of Pulwama, Mr Kifayat Haider, was that they had no other choice given the circumstances. Moreover, the safety of the villagers was another concern. The snow leopard that wild photographers often wait for hours in the cold just to get that one shot, or the animal that we pay to see in the Himalayan zoos was shot thoughtlessly.
Via: NDTV