By IANS,
Lucknow : A wildlife activist Wednesday moved a PIL (public interest litigation) here against the government decision to kill a tiger that had strayed out of its habitat in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit region two months ago.
Wildlife enthusiast and member of the Uttarakhand State Wildlife Board, Kaushlendra Singh, filed the case before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court headed by Justice U.K. Dhaon.
The judge, meanwhile, directed the state government counsel to seek instructions from the chief wildlife warden and return to the court Thursday.
Justice Dhaon expressed concern over the petitioner’s claim that as against nearly 30,000 to 40,000 tigers that roamed the Indian sub-continent few decades ago, there were just around 1,500 tigers left today.
Singh blamed the state wildlife authorities for “allowing the genocide of tigers over the years”.
The tiger had sneaked out of its habitat in the Pilibhit area some two months ago. It had also killed a person few days ago. Authorities had initially tried to capture the animal alive but later ordered that it be killed when repeated attempts to capture it failed.
The big cat has been prowling in the forest areas in various districts, including Shahjahanpur, Bahraich, Sultanpur, Faizabad and some parts of Lucknow.
Currently, it was reported to be hiding in a forest area near Kumarganj in Sultanpur district, some 130 km from here.
Singh pointed out that the declaration of the stray tiger as a “man-eater” by the state authorities was in violation of the established norms.
“Uttar Pradesh’s chief wildlife warden had declared the two-and-a-half-year-old tiger as man-eater after it killed a human some days ago. The victim had gone to a field where the tiger was hiding,” he said.
He added that: “I seek the court’s intervention simply because the wildlife department has authorized the shooters to kill the animal. Instead of doing that, they could have tried to capture the animal alive and transport it back to its natural habitat.”
Singh said: “Since the tiger is young, the animal is capable of producing at least 30-40 cubs during her life time.”