Wildlife is under threat, it needs conservation
With the expansion of agriculture, settlement, industrial and other developmental activities and mainly due to greed of man, the number of wild animals is gradually decreasing
Vinod Chandrashekhar Dixit
Hunting and killing of animals has become a form of recreation. Murdering humans is considered a crime. But killing and wiping out an entire genre is hardly given consideration.
Like forests, wildlife is also a national resource, which not only helps us in maintaining the ecological balance but is also beneficial from economic, recreational and aesthetic points of view.
There was a time when human interference was minimum and the number of wild animals was quite high and there was no problem of their protection or conservation. But, with the expansion of agriculture, settlement, industrial and other developmental activities and mainly due to greed of man, the number of wild animals is gradually decreasing day by day.
We must understand that the wildlife is a precious gift God has bestowed to this planet. The term ‘wildlife’ not only caters to wild animals but also takes into account all undomesticated life forms including birds, insects, plants, fungi and even microscopic organisms.
For maintaining a healthy ecological balance on this earth, animals, plants and marine species are as important as humans. Hunting has tradition and the support of very powerful people on its side and with their influence hunting has been left untouched by legislation – the Protection of Animals Act only covers captive and domestic animals.
High officials, who are supposed to be the guardians of law, often abuse their powers to shield the rich and powerful. Our country is unique in having a significant number of tigers in the wild, in spite of growing population and resource extraction pressures on their habitat. Tigers are the heritage of our country, evoked in the vedas, puranas and much other literature for their unparalleled strength and aesthetic beauty.
The destruction of forest coverage by Maoists may be one of the reasons for this decrease. Wild animal’s deaths were also reported from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Karnataka and Uttarakhand. No doubt, the world wild life Fund is the international agency, which is doing commendable work in promoting the protection of wildlife and there are number of national agencies engaged in the conservation of wildlife.
We should know that we are not just animals, but that we belong to the same family tree as other mammals, that our physiology and bodily processes are just like theirs, and that our mental processes too are from the same general pattern. The protection of the national animal has been a significant achievement till now.
Hope this continues and leads to a significant rise in the coming years among animals, some are fewer in number than the others, If proper care and security are extended to them, the rare animals would survive. Only the future can tell whether national animal will survive to maintain the much-needed ecological balance. If we delay now, it might be too late.
Tigers play a large role in sustaining the biodiversity of forests, in maintaining healthy ecology, habitat conservation and the livelihoods of rural communities. The tiger population has decreased in the states of Telengana & Andhra Pradesh. The destruction of forest coverage by Maoists may be one of the reasons for this decrease. Wild tiger deaths were also reported from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Karnataka and Uttarakhand. During the first six months of the year, 30 deaths were reported.
The protection of the national animal has been a significant achievement till now. Hope this continues and leads to a significant rise in the coming years. Credit must also be given to Aircel for initiating “Save Tiger” campaign, along with New Delhi Television (NDTV), who played an active role in creating awareness among the people on dwindling tiger population in India. The number of wild tigers has gone up to 3,890, from the earlier 2010 estimate of 3200, according to the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Tiger Forum. A new Tiger commando force should be created to protect tigers from the poachers. Government must try to put in more efforts to improve the arrangements to conserve the national pride – the Tiger.
(The writer is based in Ahmadabad. He contributes to ‘Kashmir Vision’)
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