a recent survey of the Hastinapur wildlife sanctuary in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh conducted by the Centre of Wildlife and Ornithology, Aligarh Muslim University, showed that between April and June, there have been 16 cases of poaching. At least 10 protected species were suspected killed, including four swamp and hog deer. The Hastinapur sanctuary was set up to save the swamp deer, an endangered species. But increasing population pressure has led to the conversion of swamps into cultivated land -- about 10 per cent of the swamp land being converted per year. The conversion which includes burning of grasslands, also kills a number of animals in the sanctuary.
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