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 Persecution and HuntingTrophy and Sport Hunting: Page 6 Local villagers in Kankani, India, have turned the tables on hunters of the threatened Blackbuck. This town, located in the Rajasthan desert of western India, has a history of preserving nature, refusing to allow an 18th century maharajah to cut their trees by encircling them and vowing to be killed rather than let the maharajah's men cut the trees (Bearak 1998). When hunters in all-terrain vehicles awoke the villagers with gunshots in October 1998, the villagers chased them off and got the license plate number of the driver (Bearak 1998). Some bucks of these striking black-and-white antelope had already been killed. "These animals are considered sacred to us, and we consider their lives more important than even our own," said a village elder of the Bishnoi people (Bearak 1998). The license turned out to belong to a famous movie actor, Salman Khan, star of many high-action, violent films (Bearak 1998). The story was told in many newspapers, and public opinion turned against Khan, who came to symbolize the callous rich who take pleasure in poaching endangered species like the Bengal Tiger and Sarus Crane (Bearak 1998). The week before, he had hunted Chinkara (Gazella bennetti), a Conservation Dependent species, according to the IUCN. On October 12, 1998, the actor was arrested, but he was unlikely to go to jail, as a result of his fame and wealth. The village elder said: "Between us and the animals there is complete trust. Our teachings tell us that we must serve as protectors and nurturers of all living things" (Bearak 1998).
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