New hunting policy smeared with blood?

Times of India , Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Correspondent : Ramaninder K Bhatia
CHANDIGARH: The state government decision to allow hunting of neelgai (blue bull) and wild boars in select areas to prevent crop damage has enraged animal lovers.

Accusing the state government of succumbing to the hunting lobby, they say that the decision would literally sound the death knell for these species on the verge of extinction.

The state government had issued a notification on March 6 authorising SDMs to issue permits for hunting wild boars and neelgai as these animals damage crops in certain places, including Kandi area and Malwa.

Chief conservator of forests and wildlife, AS Dogra, told TOI that ample safeguards had been incorporated in the notification to prevent its misuse.

To start with, hunting would be permitted only when the panchayat of an affected area passes a resolution by way of making a request to hunt down animals damaging crops, he said.

No permit would be issued to hunt animals in reserve forests, sanctuaries, conservation rreserves,community reserves and wetlands or within five kms of the boundary of these areas, he said.

The size of rifle (9 mm calibre) has also been specified for culling so as no animal is left injured and in pain. SDMs have also been asked to satisfy themselves about the veracity of claims of crop damage before issuing permits.

As per the Wildlife Act, the body of the killed animal is supposed to be deposited with the forest department which, in turn, is supposed to burn it.

However, the notification only specifies that the details of the hunted animal are to be given to the range officer or wildlife inspector within 24 hours of culling.

Those criticising the move say that the wildlife department is grossly understaffed and would not be able to monitor the process.

"When you have two wildlife guards or forest guards, that too encumbered by lack of vehicles and arms,in each district, how do you expect them to monitor the forests day and night?

To top that, they have to appear in umpteen court cases almost every other day, " said Sukhdeep Bajwa, a former honorary wildlife warden, who helped detect many cases of poaching in Gurdaspur.

The Gurdaspur district has just two guards and an out-of-order motorcycle "for chasing poachers and timber smugglers".

"Permits are to be given only to those who own a specific rifle. How many small and marginal farmers actually own these? This is only for the benefit of trigger happy big landlords," he said.

Dr Sandeep K Jain, a former executive member of the Animal Welfare Board of India and coordinator of People For Animals, Punjab, alleged that the population of blue bulls in the state could not be termed high.

"There are about 3,000-4000 blue bulls in the state. The government survey says there are 8,000! It's false and misleading," said Jain.

"Blue bulls are shy, nocturnal creatures forced to come out in search of food as their natural habitats have dwindled due to human aggression and encroachment.

The government should rather start and subsidise crop insurance policy for farmers and ask them to fence their fields. Afforestation would also make animals stick to their natural habitat," he said.

Interestingly, authorities had no crop loss figures to offer. Dogra conceded that the department did not have adequate number of guards but said that the department had the power to revoke this permission in case violations were reported.

 
SOURCE : Times of India. Tuesday, March 14, 2006
 


Back to pevious page



The NetworkAbout Us  |  Our Partners  |  Concepts   
Resources :  Databases  |  Publications  |  Media Guide  |  Suggested Links
Happenings :  News  |  Events  |  Opinion Polls  |  Case Studies
Contact :  Guest Book  |  FAQs |  Email Us