Indian farmers poison 50 rare jackals

At least 50 rare jackals were poisoned to death in northern India by farmers angry over alleged attacks on children and damage to crops blamed on the animals, a forest official said Tuesday.

The carcasses of the jackals — an endangered species protected by Indian law — were found scattered in sugarcane fields over the past four days on the outskirts of Dudhwa National Park, nearly 155 miles southwest of the Uttar Pradesh state capital of Lucknow, said the official, K.K. Singh.

The jackals live mostly in unprotected forest areas just outside the park, which is home to tigers and other large animals.

"Farmers have poisoned more than four dozen jackals to death in the past four days," Singh said.

Killing a jackal is punishable by up to three years' jail under Indian law.

Wildlife expert Ashok Chaudhry accused the state government of not doing enough to protect the species.

India has about 4,300 jackals, mostly in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the eastern states of Haryana and Chhattisgarh, according to a 2002 government census.

Police officer Arun Kumar said some villagers have complained about the jackals attacking and injuring their small children.

Police have sealed a sugar cane processing facility in the area and were investigating whether its owner might have had a possible role in the killings, Kumar said.

Samples from the carcasses have been sent for tests, he said.