Tiger poaching in India

Last updated

Tiger poaching in India has seriously impacted the probability of survival of tigers in India. [1] About 3,000 wild tigers now survive compared with 100,000 at the turn of the 20th century. This abrupt decimation in population count was largely due to the slaughter of tigers by colonial and Indian elite, during the British Raj period, and indeed following India's independence. [2] Most of those remaining, about 1,700, are India's Bengal tigers. [3] Project Tiger in India had been hailed as a great success until it was discovered that the initial count of tigers had been seriously flawed. [4]

Contents

Most of the tiger parts end up in China. [5] where a single skin can sell for Rs. 6.5 million. [6]

For poachers there has been about a four percent conviction rate. [7]

Sansar Chand, the notorious Tiger poacher acknowledged to selling 470 tiger skins and 2,130 leopard skins to just four clients from Nepal and Tibet. [8]

Sansar Chand

Sansar Chand, from the Thanagazi area of Alwar district, had been termed "the kingpin running the country’s biggest wildlife trade syndicate". [9] He stayed in the trade without getting arrested for 40 years. He ran his business from Delhi's Sadar Bazar. He was called "Veerappan of the North". [10]

He is blamed for wiping out the entire tiger population of Sariska Tiger Reserve in 2005 [11]

In 1991, a group arrested in Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan confessed that they had poached 15 to 18 tigers in just two years for him. In January 2005, a raid at Chand's godown in Patel Nagar led to finding of two tiger skins, 28 leopard skins, 14 tiger canines, three kg of tiger claws, 10 tiger jaws and 60 kg of leopard and tiger paws. In 1988, police had seized 25,800 snake skins from him. [12] Sansar Chand's wife Rani and son Akash have also been arrested for wild life trafficking. [13] Sansarchand is an intelligent and sharp animal killer. He was arrested in Patel Nagar area New Delhi. Police was trying to catch him but they were unsuccessful.after some time Delhi police get a new stage in this case they were found a lead that was sansar chand daily read a newspaper called “Rajasthan Patrika.There after police search all newspaper vendors. They found a mysterious point told by a vendor. One bagger was bought 5 different newspapers and he was gave a small notebook paper there all newspapers name written. After this point police was noticed to that bagger and after 2 days Delhi police was successful for arrested Sansarchand.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poaching</span> Illegal hunting of wildlife

Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the hunting privileges of nobility and territorial rulers.

Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered tiger. The project was initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India. As of March 2024, there are 55 protected areas that have been designated as tiger reserves under the project. As of 2023, there were 3,682 wild tigers in India, which is almost 75% of the world's wild tiger population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bengal tiger</span> Tiger population on the Indian subcontinent

The Bengal tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late Pleistocene for about 12,000 to 16,500 years. Its historical range covered the Indus River valley until the early 19th century, almost all of India, western Pakistan, southern Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and southwestern China. Today, it inhabits India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and southwestern China. It is threatened by poaching, habitat loss and habitat fragmentation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aravalli Range</span> Mountain range in western India

The Aravalli Range is a mountain range in Northern-Western India, running approximately 670 km (420 mi) in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana, Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad Gujarat. The highest peak is Guru Shikhar on Mount Abu at 1,722 m (5,650 ft). The Aravalli Range is one of the oldest geological features on Earth, having its origin in the Proterozoic era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sariska Tiger Reserve</span> Protected area in India

Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India. It stretches over an area of 881 km2 (340 sq mi) comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills. This area was preserved for hunting, for the Alwar state and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958. It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India's Project Tiger in 1978. The wildlife sanctuary was declared a national park in 1982, with a total area of about 273.8 km2 (105.7 sq mi). It is the first reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers. It is an important biodiversity area in the Northern Aravalli leopard and wildlife corridor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kailash Sankhala</span>

Kailash Sankhala was an Indian biologist and conservationist. He was the director of Delhi Zoological Park and chief wildlife warden of Rajasthan. He is best known for his work in preserving tigers. Sankhala was the first director of Project Tiger, a conservation programme set up in India in 1973. He was well known as "The Tiger Man of India". He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1992 and Rajasthan Ratan in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife Trust of India</span>

The Wildlife Trust of India is an Indian nature conservation organisation under Ministry of Forest Department, Government of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. P. Singh Badnore</span> Indian politician (b. 1948)

Vijayender Pal Singh Badnore is an Indian politician who was the 28th Governor of Punjab. He was a member of Rajya Sabha, elected on 17 June 2010. He was earlier a member of the 14th Lok Sabha and 13th Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament. He represented the Bhilwara constituency of Rajasthan and is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) political party from 1999 to 2009 and also 4 time Member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian leopard</span> Leopard subspecies

The Indian leopard is a subspecies of the leopard widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. It is threatened by illegal trade of skins and body parts, and persecution due to human-leopard conflict and retaliation for livestock depredation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife trade</span> Worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of wildlife

Wildlife trade refers to the products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tissues such as skins, bones or meat, or other products. Legal wildlife trade is regulated by the United Nations' Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which currently has 184 member countries called Parties. Illegal wildlife trade is widespread and constitutes one of the major illegal economic activities, comparable to the traffic of drugs and weapons.

Crime in India has been recorded since the British Raj, with comprehensive statistics now compiled annually by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), under the Ministry of Home Affairs (India).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Russia</span>

Crime in Russia refers to the multivalent issues of organized crime, extensive political and police corruption, and all aspects of criminality at play in Russia. Violent crime in Siberia is much more apparent than in Western Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife Protection Society of India</span> Indian wildlife protection organisation

The Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) was founded in 1994 by Belinda Wright, its Executive Director, who was an award-winning wildlife photographer and filmmaker till she took up the cause of conservation. From its inception, WPSI's main aim has been to bring a new focus to the daunting task of tackling India's growing wildlife crisis. It does this by providing support and information to government authorities to combat poaching and the escalating illegal wildlife trade - particularly in wild tigers. It has now broadened its focus to deal with human-animal conflicts and provide support for research projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gandhi Nagar, Delhi</span> Neighbourhood of Delhi in East Delhi, India

Gandhi Nagar is a residential area in the East Delhi district of Delhi in the Trans-Yamuna area. It is most known for Gandhi Nagar Market, which is Asia's biggest readymade garments/textile market. Gandhi Nagar has many shops and factories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fateh Singh Rathore</span> Tiger Guru

Fateh Singh Rathore was an Indian tiger conservationist. Fateh Singh joined the Indian Forest Service in 1960 and was part of the first Project Tiger team. He was widely acknowledged as the tiger guru for his legendary knowledge of the big cat. He worked over 50 years in wildlife conservation. Rathore was noted for his pioneering relocation of villages from inside the Ranthambhore National Park in 1973–75. Largely because of Mr. Rathore, "Ranthambhore became the place which brought the tiger to the consciousness of people the world over."

Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS) is a non-profitable environmental NGO; with its headquarters in Bheekampura, Alwar, Rajasthan. Rajendra Singh has been the incumbent chairman of TBS since 1985. TBS started their work with mobilizing communities around the issue of water, and supporting them in reviving and revitalising the traditional systems of water management through construction of johads, anicuts, and bunds for rainwater harvesting from shramdan and partly by TBS. TBS has built on existing cultural traditions of the area to revive the feeling of oneness with nature which existed in the village communities and to create an understanding and ethos of integrated ecosystem development. At present, the contribution of the organisation is spread around 1000 villages of 15 districts of the state of Rajasthan. The organisation has rejuvenated and revived 11 rivers in the state of Rajasthan naming, Ruparel, Sarsa, Arvari, Bhagani, Jahajwali, Shabi, and has established about 11,800 johads. As a result of these contributions TBS was awarded with Stockholm Water Prize in 2015. Presently, TBS’ focus rests upon access to water by rejuvenation of water resources, tackling issues like human and wildlife conflicts, and combating the mining mafias for the benefit of the local community located there.

Forests Department, Haryana is a department of the Government of Haryana, a state in India, that runs and maintains many protected nature areas in the state of Haryana. It has two administrative divisions: Forest and Wildlife. The department is responsible for maintaining National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Conservation Reserves in Haryana. It also provides a special emphasis on Soil and Moisture Conservation works in the hills to conserve water and deliver it to adjacent farmlands. Two National Parks, eight Wildlife Sanctuaries, two Conservation Reserves, four Animal & Bird Breeding Centres, one Deer park, and 49 herbal parks. Kanwar Pal Gujjar has been the cabinet minister responsible for this department since October 2019. constitute the Protected Area network of the department, covering 0.75% of the state. It also maintains a list of Protected Areas in Haryana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife SOS</span> Animal rescue organization in India

Wildlife SOS (WSOS) is a conservation non-profit organisation in India, established in 1995 with the primary objective of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in distress, and preserving India's natural heritage. It is currently one of the largest wildlife organisations in South Asia.

Steven R. Galster is an American environmental and human rights investigator and counter-trafficking program designer. Since 1987, he has planned and participated in investigations and remedial programs to stop wildlife and human trafficking and to mitigate corruption and build governance in Asia, Africa, Russia, South America, and the USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife smuggling in southern Africa</span>

The wildlife trafficking network in southern Africa involves the illicit extraction, transportation and transaction of wildlife within and across the nations of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini. Involvement in the illegal trading network can be divided into three general roles: poachers, traffickers and intermediaries, and consumers. There are a wide range of motives depending on an individual's role in the network. Some motivations include profit, sustenance, and reducing human-wildlife conflict.

References

  1. Tiger poaching and trafficking in India: Estimating rates of occurrence and detection over four decades, Koustubh Sharma,Belinda Wright,Tito Joseph,Nitin Desai, Biological Conservation, Elsevier, Volume 179, November 2014, Pages 33–39
  2. "National Geographic Society Newsroom". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
  3. Poaching for Chinese Markets Pushes Tigers to the Brink, 12/05/2014
  4. Faulty Counts May Have Hurt India Tigers, Experts Say, Pallava Bagla, National Geographic News, August 7, 2003
  5. INDIA'S HIDDEN TIGER POACHERS, Roads and Kingdoms, Jun 20, 2014
  6. Sansar’s Successors, RAMAN KIRPAL, October 16, 2010
  7. Illegal Tiger Trade: Why Tigers Are Walking Gold, Sharon Guynup in Cat Watch on February 12, 2014
  8. Sansar Chand, notorious tiger poacher, dead TNN | Mar 19, 2014
  9. Wriggling Out Of The Skin, Jay Mazoomdaar, Tehelka, 2013-07-27
  10. Sansar Chand Is India’s Deadliest Poacher. Here Is How He Has Escaped Legal Traps For 40 Years, RAMAN KIRPAL, Tehelka, August 7, 2010,
  11. Sansar Chand, who wiped out Sariska tigers, dies of cancer, Indian Express, March 18, 2014
  12. Poacher Sansar Chand arrested in Delhi, Outlook, JUN 30, 2005
  13. Haider, Tanseem (12 July 2016). "Notorious poacher Sansar Chand's son arrested in Delhi for wildlife trade". India Today. Retrieved 19 October 2017.