No Time For Celebration - India Has Recorded 28 Incidents Of Tiger Poaching In 2016 Alone
The appalling number of tigers killed for trade is in stark contrast to the increasing population shown by the government to the world. Why aren't we doing more to protect our national animal?
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Environment and Forest declared that the tiger population of India was on the rise for the first time in years. The announcement was met with much ire from wildlife conservationists.
The total tiger population in India has been recorded at 2,226 in 2015, which conservationists claim is the result of better tracking equipment and counting methods.
Khou
¡°For the first time after decades of constant decline, tiger numbers are on the rise. This offers us great hope and shows that we can save species and their habitats when governments, local communities and conservationists work together,¡± Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International, had said in a statement.
The Wildlife Protection Society of India has released the latest numbers, and that works as a killjoy. The total number of tigers killed by poachers in 2015 stood at 25. What is even more appalling is that in only four months of 2016, 28 cases of tigers killed by poachers have already been recorded!
Wildtrails
"The population numbers are always estimates," says Tito Joseph, Programme Manager with the Wildlife Protection Society of India. "There is no way to confirm the exact number of tigers in the wild. That is not the case with tigers that have been poached. The count is on the basis of body parts and incidents from across the country. These are exact numbers."
What do the numbers mean?
"There has been an increase in the tiger population in India," says Joseph. "But it could be a result of a different way of counting the animals." Several other wildlife conservationists argue that tigers that had never been considered in the calculations before may be adding to the image of a "conservation success" in India. The reality, however, is stark.
Saran Vaid
Instead of focusing on the numbers of the tigers, it is time to prevent widespread tiger poaching. "The increased incidents of poaching are indicating two things. First, that there is a larger demand of tiger parts and second, there is a lack of proper enforcement of law," Joseph adds.
"Poachers with five tigers each were captured in two separate locations in 2016 itself," he says. "One of these locations is the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar." The tiger reserve has been in the news frequently for poaching activities.
Without strict enforcement of the law, and tough punishment meted out to poachers, the future of the tiger population is still very much in the dark.