Srinagar, Oct 7 : Animal skins worth about rupees 10 crore were destroyed in Srinagar today by the state wildlife department on the directions of the High Court.

The animal skins were seized from various fur traders in the Kashmir Valley.

Chief wildlife warden A.K Srivastava said the market value of these animal skins were 9.42 crore rupees in 1997, and today it might be higher than that.

Srivastava also said that by destroying these animal skins the authorities want to preserve the conservation of wildlife in the Valley.

Chief Wildlife Veterinarian Dr Mir Masood said there were many endangered animal skins that were destroyed such as common fox, desert cat, leopard cat, leopard skins, tiger skins among many others.

Nearly 32 lakh rare animals, including snow leopards, red deer, musk deer, brown bear, tigers and common leopards, were killed to produce 8.5 lakh garments. The State Government imposed a ban on these animal skins in 1997. (ANI)