The Forest Department is claiming that the arrest of seven notorious poachers involved in the latest instance of tiger poaching in Uttarakhand is a major success, but wildlife activists state that this is not so because before the poachers were arrested, a tiger had to pay for the negligence of forest officers with its life. The seven were caught on Monday for poaching and skinning a tiger in the Sharda range of Haldwani forest division on October 14. However, activists point out that the tiger would not have been poached had the divisional officers acted on the alert issued about a month ago by the previous Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden regarding the probability of increased activity of poachers during the festive season.
Forest officials state that the Indo-Nepal border and healthy population of tigers and leopards, among other wild animals, makes Uttarakhand an attraction for poachers. Brushing aside the complaint of some wildlife activists, the State Forest and Environment Advisory Committee vice chairman Anil Baluni said that among Indian States, Uttarakhand is the most active in pursuing wildlife issues and in taking action against poachers.
“Poachers are present in all States with wildlife to poach, but whereas they are arrested in Uttarakhand, they seldom face similar action in other States. The State is also preparing a specific plan for wildlife security which will be finalised soon and acted upon to ensure better wildlife protection in Uttarakhand,” he added.
However, the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) Uttarakhand head Rajendra Agrawal said that the organisation had informed the department about the presence of Bawaria gangs and other poachers in Uttarakhand in advance. “Acting swiftly on this information, the then PCCF (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden Shrikant Chandola had issued letters to all forest divisions, instructing officers to be alert to the possibility of rise in poaching activity during the festive season. However, the divisional officers ignored this instruction and a tiger had to pay the price for their apathy with its life,” he said.
While authorities state that the arresting of poachers is Uttarakhand is a sign of effective action by the Forest Department, wildlife activists maintain the authorities should take timely and effective action to prevent poaching instead of simply arresting poachers after they have killed big cats or other wildlife.
