The hunt is on Fighting poachers in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan The Tian-Shan mountains are just sparsely populated by herders and their families. Their yurts are often the only accomodations the rangers can find. A member of the ranger unit "Gruppa Bars" is checking a confiscated illegal firearm A group of organized poachers An american hunting tourist checks his firearm after after it was inspected by the rangers The rangers are searching a group of commercial trophy hunters and their clients. Some of the Marco Polo sheep they find have been poached. The horn of a poached Marco Polo sheep The rangers check paperwork and license of the trophy hunters Herder in the Tian-Shan mountains The rangers check not just commercial trophy hunters but also single herders Travelling the remote and barren kyrgyz highlands can be a real challenge The roads are rough and travelling is slow A ranger is looking for poachers Snow leopards are put at risk by poaching Illegal fishing is also a big problem. The confiscated nets are several kilometer long sometimes. The confiscated nets are burned on the spot to prevent further poaching Illegaly caught fish found in the back of a car A poacher tries to argue with the rangers A ranger checks the back of a herder's truck The rangers hand out leaflets to herders to raise invironmental awareness first published @
