TEHRAN- An official at the Department of Environment said on Friday that a comprehensive plan has been finalized for the protection of leopards in Iran and will be implemented as of the next Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2016).

Ali Teimoori said that the preparation of the plan kick-started two years ago, and lots of studies have been conducted on leopards across Iran since then, IRNA reported.

Teimoori said that 166 leopards have died over the last eight years, mostly in Fars, Kerman, Zanjan, Ilam, and Khorasan Razavi provinces. He blamed road accidents, hunters and farmers, as well as urban sprawl as the main causes of the deaths.

The plan is a collective work outlined in cooperation with different sections of the department of environment as well as 60 university centers and 200 NGOs, he added.

One of the important issues, according to Teimoori, which has been taken into account in the new plan, is insurance policy for both leopards, and the damages it may cause.

Another issue which has been considered is an increase in the amount of the fine for hunting a leopard from 50 million rials (about $1,474) to 800 million rials ($23,584), Teimoori said.

Given that leopard is a protected species, the judge is authorized to sentence a hunter from three months to three years, he added.


PT/MG