IGNATIUS PEREIRA
The SOP, intended for the forest departments of all States, has already been notified by the Kerala Forest Department. It was designed by the NTCA in the wake of an incident on December 2, 2012, at Wayanad, when a team from the Forest Department shot a male tiger that strayed into areas inhabited by human beings.
The SOP underlines that “under no circumstance should a tiger be eliminated by invoking the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, if it isn’t habituated to causing human casualties. But confirmed man-eaters should be eliminated as per the statutory provisions under Section 11 of the Act”.
Therefore, while forest authorities engage in dealing with straying of tigers and even leopards into human-dominated areas, crowding by local people should be avoided by clamping prohibitory orders. Authorities should ensure to proactively involve the district administration and the local police in the area at an early stage. Clamping prohibitory orders is essential to avoid agitation of the local people surrounding the animal’s location, which will hamper the capture operation and can also result in serious injuries to the staff and the people, the SOP notes.
It can even result in incidents like the one that took place at Wayanad. “Effective coordination with the district administration and police is critical to control crowds.” If an area is habitually prone to livestock predation by big cats, the Forest Department has to take up research to assess the reasons for frequent tiger emergencies. Under no circumstance should a captured tiger, if it is found to be injured or incapacitated, be released into the forest. It should be sent to a recognised zoo. But if a captured tiger is healthy, without injuries, it should be released after radio collaring, into a suitable habitat with an adequate prey base.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/guidelines-issued-to-deal-with-straying-tigers/article4536147.ece
- Crowding by the local people should be avoided by clamping prohibitory orders
- If a captured tiger is healthy, it should be released into a suitable habitat after radio collaring
- A tiger should never be eliminated if it doesn’t cause human casualties: NTCA
The SOP, intended for the forest departments of all States, has already been notified by the Kerala Forest Department. It was designed by the NTCA in the wake of an incident on December 2, 2012, at Wayanad, when a team from the Forest Department shot a male tiger that strayed into areas inhabited by human beings.
The SOP underlines that “under no circumstance should a tiger be eliminated by invoking the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, if it isn’t habituated to causing human casualties. But confirmed man-eaters should be eliminated as per the statutory provisions under Section 11 of the Act”.
Therefore, while forest authorities engage in dealing with straying of tigers and even leopards into human-dominated areas, crowding by local people should be avoided by clamping prohibitory orders. Authorities should ensure to proactively involve the district administration and the local police in the area at an early stage. Clamping prohibitory orders is essential to avoid agitation of the local people surrounding the animal’s location, which will hamper the capture operation and can also result in serious injuries to the staff and the people, the SOP notes.
It can even result in incidents like the one that took place at Wayanad. “Effective coordination with the district administration and police is critical to control crowds.” If an area is habitually prone to livestock predation by big cats, the Forest Department has to take up research to assess the reasons for frequent tiger emergencies. Under no circumstance should a captured tiger, if it is found to be injured or incapacitated, be released into the forest. It should be sent to a recognised zoo. But if a captured tiger is healthy, without injuries, it should be released after radio collaring, into a suitable habitat with an adequate prey base.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/guidelines-issued-to-deal-with-straying-tigers/article4536147.ece
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