Foresters, cops hand in glove in killing fields

A haul of hunted black sniped hare and a jungle cat (endangered scheduled animal). —DC

Chennai: In 2010, a group of friends with police connections entered Kalakad Munda­nthurai tiger Reserve in Tirunelveli with telescopic rifles, guns and snares. The group, after a few rounds of liquor, hunted endangered mouse deer, wild cat, (endangered animals scheduled under the wildlife protection Act), black sniped hare and a few protected birds. After skinning, the meat was cooked and the feast served.

When they were caught red-handed by the local police, the group bribed them and petty cases were registered under the Cr.P.C. and Wildlife Protection Act, burying the issue. The clueless forest department has been maintaining silence till date for reasons best known to them. Pictures and videograph evidence available with this newspaper reveal the sorry state of affairs and unchecked poaching in the southern part of Tamil Nadu.

“When Bollywood star Salman Khan killed an endangered (black buck) deer in Rajasthan, the local wildlife officials framed charges against him and produced him in court but in Tamil Nadu, the situation is different. You can kill scheduled animals and if you are caught, you can still walk out of forest reserves using your clout,” fumes A. Rangarajan, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Green Movement.

If this is the state of a “well-protected”’ sanctuary, one shudders to think as the state of affairs in other low-profile parks and sanctuaries. We request the chief minister to initiate legal action as per the wildlife protection Act 1972 and Arms Act into these happenings and check the legality of weapons so that such incidents don’t happen again, he added.

The forest department has to initiate a quick recruitment drive with young and able field staff to effectively patrol the forests and guard them effectively. Streamlining recruitment and increasing field presence is the need of the hour and the situation of wetland birds is even worse, said wildlife activist S. Jayachandran.

“The videos and photographs are shocking and expose the poor anti-poaching system in Tirunelveli. It’s time to scale up patrolling and independent biologists and wildlife activists should be encouraged to visit the forests,” opines N. Balaji a naturalist who frequents KMTR.

A highly-placed official in the state forest headquarters told DC that the particular incident was unheard-of. “We will look into the issue and take action,” the top official assured.

A forest department official who viewed the pictures and videos available with DC said most of the animals gunned down belong to schedule 2 and 3 of the wildlife Act. As per the Act, poaching of schedule 2 (highly endangered animals) can lead to imprisonment up to three years with a fine not less than `10,000.

Mouse deer hunting will invite serious punishment and can lead up to seven years’ imprisonment as the animal enjoys the schedule 1 status enjoyed by lion, tigers and whales, the official added.

KMTR becomes a haven for poachers

Tirunelveli: The dense tropical forests of the Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in the south of the Western Ghats in Tirunelveli district has become a safe hunting ground for poachers despite the region being a biodiversity hot spot.

Even the authorities here have been indulging in poaching, say environmental activists, who add that though a team led by a police DSP had been nabbed by Forest department officials on December 24, 2012 in the Kalakkad forest of KMTR, they were let off on the intervention of a Congress MLA.

The Innova car (KL-01 AW 8181) reported to have been used by the illegal intruders, according to the environmentalist, belonged to the MLA’s brother. The Ervadi police who intercepted the intruders had also seized two double barrel guns, one of which was of English make.

Another complaint of 200 teak trees being felled in the Karayar range in KMTR three months ago was also swept under the carpet as the accused was one of the rangers. Deputy Director of KMTR, Gurusamy, however, said that the complaint was a false one. He, however, agreed that five men with two guns had been arrested in the Kalakkad range at KMTR, which did not fall under his jurisdiction.

The issue of smuggling of trees from the Kattalai Malai above Karayar was also brushed aside by the KMTR deputy director, who told this newspaper that the trees were being felled on a private patta land at Kattalai Malai.

He added that the Manjolai Tea Estate, run by the Bombay-Burma Trad­ing Company, had been accused of serious violations of the Forest Act and said that the government had filed a case against the estate administration in the Madurai High Court Bench seeking cancellation of the lease accorded to the company by a private party before independence. The company has allegedly encroached into forest land beyond the 8000 acres that it had leased for 99 years.

Speaking to this newspaper, an anti-poaching watcher said that poaching of wet land birds, mouse deer, wild cats and hares was rampant in the KMTR forest.

Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130218/news-current-affairs/article/foresters-cops-hand-glove-killing-fields