New Delhi, Dec. 31: It was the issue of tiger farming that hogged the limelight this year especially the historic ruling when tiger ranging countries along with most of the participating countries voted against domestic and international trade in tiger derivatives and parts, thus ending lone country China’s — which is into tiger farming — hopes of formally reopening its tiger trade. It should be noted that India has the maximum number of tigers in the wild and more than 90 per cent of the illegal tiger parts from here are smuggled to China, which has the biggest market for tiger products in the world. This decision took place at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting, where one of the participating countries, US, came out strongly against tiger farming.
India was supported in its stand against tiger farming by countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and also countries like Swaziland, Kenya and Malawi which are gripped with wildlife crime. Their main concern was that if tiger farming is allowed, it will only risk the lives of wild tigers as there is no expertise to distinguish a wild tiger from reared one.
While back home, it was the occasional reports of tiger killings and their parts being sized. Country still awaits the latest tiger census report which experts said will correct the anomalies made in the previous census report. The previous census report was criticised for exaggerating the tiger numbers in the country.
Officials in the Union ministry of environment and forests said that how much the last figures were exaggerated can only be verified once the new report comes.
But as per the data available, tiger population in the country has reduced to not more than 1,500, which is less than half to the previous "exaggerated" figure. Report suggested that in Madhya Pradesh 65 per cent of the tigers have vanished, while Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have less than 100 tigers each in the areas surveyed. But official maintained that they will comment on tiger population only when the census report will be released. India was home to about 40,000 tigers a century ago but rampant poaching and lack of effective conservation methods killed many thousands of these big cats which are now one of the highly endangered species.
This time the ministry has used scientific methods and GIS mapping in counting the tiger population in the 17 tiger-bearing states of the country, which the officials maintained will bring out the true picture of tiger population in the country and there will be no room for mistakes.
The census report was suppose to be out by this month’s end as was asked by Prime Minster Dr Manmohan Singh, but the report is delayed.
Once the famous tiger reserve Sariska still remains unoccupied by tigers, despite state government’s effort to reintroduce tigers as the Centre remains adamant that unless all requirements as mentioned by it are met, no tiger will be reintroduced.
It was the emptying of Sariska of tigers by poachers that triggered the panic button and everyone from common man to conservationists — both within the country and abroad — to government agencies were worried that this highly endangered species will soon be lost to poachers despite Centre and states maintaining that tiger conservation plans have been put in place and security arrangements have been tightened.
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