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Law enforcement is also often impeded by a lack of awareness and/or a lack of the political will
necessary to carry out prosecutions. In many of the Snow Leopard range States, environmental
conservation comes especially low on the list of national priorities, in the wake of economic and
political upheaval, for example in the case of Afghanistan and those countries formerly part of
the Soviet Union. In Tajikistan, for instance, laws are reportedly not obeyed and effective
enforcement has been described as generally non-existent (M. Kadamshoev, Pamir Institute of
Biology, in litt., 2002), while in Uzbekistan, law enforcement, especially in the field of nature
protection, is said to be low (E. Kreuzberg-Mukhina, IUCN National Committee/Academy of
Science, Uzbekistan, in litt., 2002). Low rank accorded to species conservation at governmental
level means that wildlife rangers and enforcement personnel will often be poorly equipped and
live on low wages. This in turn can give rise to a fertile breeding ground for corruption, which
plays a considerable role in confounding the efforts of some range States to tackle wildlife crime
effectively, as remuneration for enforcement officials may seem especially paltry compared
with the earnings to be made from trading in Snow Leopard skins and other parts (see Table 3)
(Anon., 1999).
TYPES OF THREAT POSED TO SNOW LEOPARDS
According to the survey of more than 60 Snow Leopard specialists, undertaken by the Snow
Leopard Survival Strategy (see Methods), direct killings of Snow Leopards and loss of their
natural prey base are considered to be the most significant threats to the long-term survival of
the species (McCarthy and Chapron, 2003). The survey results testified to considerable
differences in the type of threat posed between geographic regions. Most notably, a divide
exists between the Himalayan region - Bhutan, India, Nepal and the Tibetan and other parts of
southern China, and the central Asian region - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. Killings of Snow Leopards in retribution for
livestock depredation were identified as a significant threat in the Himalayan region and in the
Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains. By contrast, poaching of Snow Leopards for trade was
considered the main threat to the species in the central Asian region and northern range of the
species - in the Chinese Altai mountains and Tien Shan mountains (Xinjiang Autonomous
Province), Mongolia and the Russian Federation (McCarthy and Chapron, 2003).
In many cases, the different types of threat are related and sometimes closely interwoven, which
makes it difficult to identify baseline causes and effects. For example, over-grazing by domestic
livestock may lead to competition with, and eventually loss of, wild ungulates, a major prey
source for Snow Leopards. In turn, such reduction of wild prey often leads Snow Leopards to
prey on domestic livestock, which sets up a negative perception of the cat among herders, who
then become motivated to kill Snow Leopards in retaliation for, or prevention of, attacks on
livestock.
Despite this complexity, it is important that the separate factors influencing threats to Snow
Leopards are identified and carefully assessed to ensure that remedial approaches for reducing
such threats are appropriate.
Loss of natural prey base
Wild ungulates, such as Argali, ibex or Blue Sheep, are adversely affected by over-grazing of
land through increased competition with domestic livestock in parts of the Snow Leopard’s
FADING FOOTPRINTS: the killing and trade of Snow Leopards 19