Kolkata, March 9: AT a time when wildlife conservation occupies prime importance, a bison was shot down by forest department officials in Cooch Behar, triggering fierce protests from villagers.
According to reports, three bisons had strayed out of Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary on Tuesday.
While one was driven back, another was tamed with shots of tranquilisers. But the third ran into Mahishbari village, located around 17 km from the sanctuary.
Forest department officials said the bison was shot down out of public concern after it had injured three people. ‘‘With a mob of 4,000-5,000 people gathering after the attack, the law and order situation in the area was at stake. So there was no other way but to resort to this extreme step,’’ said an official.
But local sources said only one villager was injured in the attack. And that villager, too, is protesting against the killing. Now, the villagers living in the fringes of the forest have launched a mass campaign, collecting signatures and demanding the prosecution of the forest officials responsible for the killing.
The straying of wild animals has become a recurrent phenomenon in recent times. With the number of bisons in the sanctuary increasing manifold — the bison population has multiplied by as many as five times in the last decade — it is but natural that the bisons stray out of the forests in search of food.
Forest sources claim that thanks to successful conservation and stringent anti-poaching measures, the bison count in Jaldapara alone stands at a staggering 1,500.
Forest authorities added that such a drastic step is resorted to only in the rarest of circumstances and there had been no such killing in the past one year.
However, even these ‘‘rarest’’ incidents highlight the forest department’s inability to handle emergencies. If it is a bison this time, last year there was a furore over the death of a bear, due to the alleged carelessness of forest department staff. An enquiry is still on in that case.
