MARGAO: After an inspection of the animals at the Moonlight circus that haven’t been fed properly since March 1, show cause notices were issued to the owners of the circus prior to cancellation of their performing animal registration with the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and cancellation of the registration of the circus by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).
This was in pursuant to complaints filed by Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA),Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre (WRCC) and the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations (FIAPO).
After the crime branch arrested the circus owner and five other persons on charges of human trafficking and rape, the animals at the circus were left to starve and were recently shifted to Kudal inMaharashtra.
Puja Mitra, campaign manager, FIAPO, who first took up the issue with the Goa forest department about the welfare of the elephants at the circus site along with the other animals has appealed to the government to set up an animal rescue centre in Goa.
Mitra, who is based in Goa, added that with the creation of rescue centres, the elephants rescued from circuses can live the remainder of their life in natural surroundings without being forced to perform. “While it is cruel for any animal to be used in performance, it is even more so, in the case of the elephant,” added Mitra.
During the inspection of the circus that has four elephants, the AWBI team noted that the animals were also being subjected to cruelty using spiked foot belt to restrict their movement which are banned. Dr R M Kharb, chairman of the AWBI, pointed out that this is in violation of Section 11(1) of Prevention ofCruelty to AnimalsAct, 1960 andWildlife Protection Act, 1972 and that transportation rules had also been violated.
Please Note: Image of spiked leg holds not from this circus!
Kharb also requested that ‘immediate’ steps be taken to ask the Maharashtra wildlife department to move thewild animals especially the elephants from the Moonlight circus to safe shelters and a final decision about their rehabilitation be taken in due course.
“The effort now should be to remove the animals to safe holdings immediately while the formalities and paper work can continue, otherwise the animals are liable to disappear to unknown places,” said Suparna Ganguly, co-founder trustee of CUPA.
BHOPAL: A section of Pardhis from Madhya Pradesh have yet proved to be the biggest threat to wild life; particularly the big cat population in India. Very recently they are reported to have smuggled half a dozen tiger hides to an international syndicate from their base in Katni district. And all this while wild life officials, busy pitching for lions from Gir in Gujarat to the state, appeared blissfully ignorant.
The poaching racket headquartered at Katni was busted on Sunday with the arrest of three Pardhis by a crime branch team ofMaharashtra police from Nagpur. The arrests were made from a village in Nagpur on specific inputs from an organisation working for wildlife.
The accused Chika alias Krishna, Badlu alias Mangru and Shiri – all residents of Katni’s Sagoni village -have confessed to selling five tiger hides so far to a Haryana-based trader. The deal was worth Rs 20 lakh for three tiger hides, said sources.
Poachers Snare
One of the tiger, they said, was poached from Mandla district. However, no tiger hides have been confiscated so far.
Now, the forest officials in four states – Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh – are on the lookout for 30 more Pardhis, from two villages (Sagoni and Billhari) in Katni district. Pardhi families from Katni disappeared from these two villages a day before the trio were arrested, said sources adding that the information got leaked.
Most of the accused on run are close relatives of the 37 Pardhis arrested from Katni for poaching lions fromGir national park in Gujarat in 2007. Teams have been dispatched to different locations tracking cell phones.
According to forest officials, the Maharashtra police had placed several Pardhis of Katni on surveillance besides intercepting their calls while the deal was being made. The arrest was made only after the skins were sold.
The 30-member gang got Rs 35,000 each from the first deal, said sources. They kept on changing their locations from one place to the other while striking the deal. Reportedly, the police could confiscate a few bones from them, which has been sent for forensic examination for identification of the species.
The problemleopard in Umred–Kuhi area ofNagpur districtkilled a woman in a farm nearTarnavillage Tuesday, triggering tension and public anger.
The animal had earlier injured three people. Efforts by the forest department to capture it since the first attack on August 10 have not succeeded.
“The leopard pounced on Babybai Uike, aged about 50 years, when she was sowing chillies with five or six other women around 5.30 pm. The woman’s shrieks attracted the group which raised an alarm, following which the animal ran away. But Babybai succumbed on the spot,” Divisional Forest Officer P K Mahajan told The Indian Express.
Villagers angry with the forest department’s failure to capture the leopard refused to collect Babybai’s body for two hours after the incident. “This will probably mean the villagers will take it upon themselves to find, catch & probably burn the leopard; as they have done on previous occasions!”
“We have put up two cages since August 15, but it is refusing to fall into the trap,” Mahajan said.
“Despite so much pressure, the animal is hardly deterred.”
Nobody seems to know why the leopard began attacking humans. Unlike most cases of man-animal conflict, the attacks have happened in villages and farms, not forests. “Which are still within the leopard’s dining area!!”
“This is clearly a crisis. From my experience in western Maharashtra, I can say that leopards that have been trapped once succeed in avoiding cages. Also, those caught outside protected areas but released inside generally tend to get into conflict with humans,” wildlife biologist and leopard scholar Vidya Athreya said.
A leopard was caged on June 10 after it entered a house in Ranbodi village nearby, and was released in the wild the next day.
Mahajan said the problem leopard could be the same one. “We are checking available photographs. It could be the same animal.”
Asked why shoot orders were not being issued, Mahajan said, “I will now send a report to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) S W H Naqvi, who will take a call.”
Asked for a comment, Naqvi said, “We have to exhaust all options before shoot orders are issued. I will decide after getting a report from the DFO.” “Of course they can’t just go round shooting all the leopards that villagers see close up, they are a protected species…not that the villagers care. I have seen some horrific videos of what villagers will do to any that they can catch, beating them to death or burning them alive! Perhaps public housing is more likely to be edging further into the leopards domain…not the other way around…that or the locals are killing meat usually hunted by the leopard; for their own family’s to feed on…hence no food for the leopards!”
“Having just found this video, I thought I would include as it show’s the villagers mentality on finding a leopard. Villagers go into mob mode, their like screaming banshees, possessed, the appear by the hundreds (don’t know how or who calls them) & will kill either leopard or officials if there are only a few. You can see the hatred they have for the leopard, throwing rocks at it’s head, when the poor bloody thing only want’s to get back to forest!”
“Thank God the superintendence of police got more back up or else this could have ended with 2 deaths. I think they should look into training more people who are able to dart & know the leopards behaviour!!”
Its War Between Leopard & Human.. Leopard came for water & food near farm, because of Sunrise She try to hide at Bamboo shade sided to close house. but news spread out. Villagers dare that catch the leopard or they will kill. after the 1st fail attempt from villagersthey almost succeed to kill leopard, but help of police forest official & we success to save this leopard. only 1 personwho has experience toTrapor dart leopard,other 1 is me who know the behavior of leopard , both injured in action. Daring of Mr.Sunil Wadekar who takes the decision of Open Dart…& got success… i feel the happiness that man after the fever he run at least for 4km ..& save to Leopard. Thanks to Superintendent of Police Nashik Mr.Pravin Padval who send extra police force & respond to my Request.
“What brilliant news, & a great end to my first Friday back at the helm! I’m sorry, I would love to post more, but my head is telling me otherwise, which I think for once I will take notice of…lol….Hope you all have a great weekend!”
You did it! Sunder, a 13-year-old elephant who has been kept chained inside a dark shed at Jyotiba Temple in the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra for seven years, will soon be freed and on his way to a better life. The move comes as a result of a rigorous three-month campaign led by PETA, in which more than 13,000 people from within India alone took part in PETA’s online petition that called for Sunder’s release. Legendary former Beatle Paul McCartney and Hollywood‘s Pamela Anderson also lent their support to the campaign by writing letters to government officials.
Thanks to an order just issued by Maharashtra Forest Minister Dr Patangrao Shripatrao Kadam, who listened carefully to the evidence of Sunder’s abuse, Sunder is to be removed from the temple and rehabilitated in a wildlife rescue-and-rehabilitation centre near Bangalore.
Sunder
“The difference between Sunder’s cruel life in chains at the temple and his new journey to freedom, love and care is like night and day“, says PETA India Director of Veterinary Affairs Dr Manilal Valliyate. “Daily walks and mental stimulation are essential to elephants’ mental and physical health. Lack of exercise and years spent standing in one position on hard surfaces amid their own waste often lead to painful and crippling foot ailments and arthritis. We are grateful to the Forest Minister for agreeing to liberate Sunder and let him enjoy the things that are natural and important to him for the first time in his life.”
The abuse that Sunder endured highlights the scandal that is growing over the way that elephants used in Indian temples to represent the Hindu god Ganesha are being housed and mistreated. Many elephants at Indian temples also show signs of severe psychological distress – such as swaying, head-bobbing and weaving, behaviour not found in healthy elephants in nature. Frustrated captive Indian elephants commonly harm or kill their mahouts or others around them.
Now,PETAIndia has obtained new photographic evidence of the abuse that the elephant is enduring while being used as a living begging bowl and beaten by a vicious, inept youngmahout (trainer).
At just 13 years old, Sunder has already experienced terrible torment. Kept in chains in a dark shed at the Jyotiba Temple in Maharashtra, India, he is unable to take even a single step without causing a spike to jab his skin.
When he is taken out of the shed in order to beg for money for this wealthy temple, the mahout controls him with a spiked chain, a sharpbullhook (which is like a fireplace poker), and other weapons that force Sunder to follow orders out of fear of being struck.
Sunder is often seen with fresh wounds that he sustained during beatings, and the marks that cover his body stand as evidence of years of abuse.
A PETA India–supported program, Animal Rahat , was finally given permission to provide the elephant with veterinary care for his right eye, which was likely injured from being jabbed with a bullhook.
Sunder is also denied adequate food and water and never experiences anything that is natural and important to him, such as exploring the woods and enjoying the company of other elephants.
A complaint has been filed with police against Sunder’s mahout, since the torment that he inflicts on the elephant is in violation of the Wildlife Protection acts of 1972 and 2002 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
PETA India and the veterinarians present are also requesting that Forest Minister Dr. Patangrao Shripatrao Kadam use his authority to have Sunder surrendered and retired to a proper sanctuary that PETA India has standing by to receive him.
Help free Sunder! E-mail the forest minister, Dr. Kadam, and urge him to free Sunder without a moment’s delay.
“I was trying to find a video of the actual elephant but couldn’t, found the one below though…Just think about the abuse these magnificent beast have to endure…& people wonder why some of them, turn on their mahouts! The guys in the video certainly didn’t like it when they realised they had been caught on tape abusing the elephant”.
Dear Friends I shot this video when I visited Elephant Sanctuary at Guruvayoor, (Thrissur Dist. Kerala, India.) on 3rd of January 2010. This is very cruel , people behaviour towards animals. I was threatened while I was shooting this video and such a difficulty I could finish it. I kept this video all these days under the cover. I heard that elephant named “Arjun” is not in a position to walk as the mahouts hit him to the core and left leg had broken. Considering Arjuns case he is one of the best elephants in Kerala. I seriously don’t know why these government servants behave this way to Elephants. Please share video if you love ELEPHANTS
Moved by the condition of a temple elephant in Kolhapur that was allegedly beaten and kept in chains, ex-BeatlePaul McCartney has written to state Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam, requesting him to take action to rehabilitate the animal.
“I have seen photographs of young Sunder, the elephant kept alone in a shed at Jyotibha Temple and put in chains with spikes,” McCartney wrote in his letter.
“I appeal to you to do what is right here and get Sunder post-haste to rehabilitation in the forest. Years of his life have been ruined by keeping him and abusing him in this way and enough is enough,” he wrote.
Around three weeks ago, the PETA team found a young elephant, around 13 years of age, being kept in a pathetic condition at the temple. “All his legs were chained and his mahout (handler) was young, newly appointed and hardly had any experience. There was a hole in the animal’s ear, like every captive elephant has, where a sharp hooked weapon, called the ankus, is jabbed to control the animal and he had a severe injury in the right eye due to the same instrument. He did not have access to water or enough food,” said Dr Manilal Valliyate, director of veterinary affairs, PETA India.
When McCartney, a PETA supporter, was informed about the elephant, he immediately offered to help, said Valliyate. “Even though he was busy with the London Olympics rehearsals, he wrote the letter almost within a day of informing him,” he said.
The PETA team has filed a complaint in the case with the local police and is also in constant touch with Kadam. “We have informed him about the elephant and shown him the photographs as well. He told us that the matter is under review and no decision has been taken so far,” said Valliyate. PETA is also in touch with local MLA Vinay Kore, who donated the elephant to the temple. “He was unaware that the elephant was being mistreated and is sympathetic,” said Valliyate.
Animal welfare organisations said such cases are not new and many temple elephants are abused across the country. “We had found an elephant in Pali, Raigad, which had lost an ear, and another one that was regularly chained in another part of Maharashtra. But such cases are common across the country. Elephants are made to walk long distances in the wild but kept in captivity, they suffer from mental and physical distress,” added Valliyate.
KERI: Bereft of any details of wildlife in Goa, including that of big cats in the state, the ‘status of wildlife in the state of Goa’ report, nonetheless, offers a roar of support to former environment minister Jairam Ramesh‘s ‘Tiger Reserve‘ suggestion.
Referring extensively to the state’s past wildlife censuses, the report by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, states, “The tiger occupied landscape in Goa forms part of the corridor connecting Anshi-Dandeli in Karnataka and Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. Goa can potentially be home to a small feeding population of tigers which would be sustained by immigrants from Anshi-Dandeli as well as Sahyadri. It would hence benefit from being incorporated as part ofTiger Reserve complex.”
The report, compiled by Bilal Habib and Gautam Talukdar of WII, has synthesized the result of the 2010 wildlife census following the MoEF-laid down protocols of phase-I of country-wide assessment of the status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India. The first census was in 2006.
The present report notes, “Goa is not a tiger range state therefore the second and third phases for nationwide monitoring programme were not carried out in Goa.” But, referring to the 2010 census that recorded the tiger’s presence in Mollem wildlife sanctuary and in the forests of Ponda and Sanguem talukas, it notes, “Tiger occupancy within the state is about 322 sq km.” It attributes this to the phase-I monitoring that reported the occupancy of six species of carnivores, with the leopard occupying the large area of 1611.28 sq km, and sloth bears, jackal, wild dog and tiger in 322 sq km.
When contacted, additional principal chief conservator of forests Richard D’Souza told TOI, “The WII report has not given specific numbers of carnivores if any, rather they have given about zoning areas.”
Amrutsingh, president, Animal Rescue Squad, Bicholim, said, “It is surprising for us that status of wildlife in the state of Goa has not mentioned anything about tiger movements, when the area has the presence of a tigress, cubs and a male tiger.”
Paresh Parob, the newly-appointed range forest officer of the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary said, “We are aware about the tigers’ movements in the sanctuary and the department has taken necessary steps for the protection of the big cats.”
Times View
After years of hearing the government deny the tiger’s presence in Goa, despite the pug marks, the scats, the cattle attacks and in 2009 a very disturbing photo of a slain big cat in Keri, the Wildlife Institute of India’s report is a refreshing change. Details would have, of course, corroborated the cause vastly. It’s now left to be seen whether the government can change its own stripes on the issue.
BHOPAL: Eight suspectedpoacherswere detained with a metal trap, a knife and others implements allegedly used to electrocute big cats at Linga village of Chhindwara district late on Friday night, close to MP’s Pench Tiger Reserve, which spreads over to Maharashtra. In Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, a striped-animal was electrocuted and chopped to 11 pieces for costly body parts a week ago.
The detention of the group assumes significance as it comes some 22 days after a warning issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) that a big gang has paid advance to Katni district-based local poachers’ gang to kill tiger for body parts for big bucks in international market. In the wake of the NTCA warning, a high alert has been sounded in 42 tiger reserves across the country, including five in the state.
“We have recovered a metal trap, a knife, sharp iron rods, hammers, wires and wooden rods among other things used to kill tiger from their possession. After trapping the big cat, the modus operandi of poachers is that they put the sharp iron rod inside striped animal’s mouth to kill him,” Chhindwara divisional forest officer Ashok Kumar told TOI.
After killing the tiger, the poachers beat it up with wooden rod to loosen its skin and thereafter remove the hide with specially-designed knife, which they have recovered, he said.
Ashok said that the group was also owned one Gypsy jeep and eight motorbikes. “We believe that they had done a recee to kill tiger,” he added.
The arrested have been identified as Sanjesh of Shivpuri district and Zilendar Giri of Sarguja inChhattisgarh while Rai Singh, Dharma, Dhara, Ishwar, Jorawar and Kismat, all hail from Chhitorgarh in Rajasthan.
“We carried out searches at three places in Shivpuri,” Ashok said. He said that right now it was difficult for them to say that if the gang were members belonged to nomadic Pardhi tribe. Pardhi tribe, especially hailing from Katni district was infamous for killing wild animals for an easy living. The big poaching gangs allegedly use this tribe that is believed to have mastered the illegal art of killing wild animals across the country.
Large number of leopards has moved out of forest areas and have made towns and villages in south Gujarat their homes, thus increasing the chances of conflict with humans.
According to Vidya Athreya, who is running the Project Waghoba in Mumbai, said that leopard density in south Gujarat and major parts of Maharashtra is higher than the dense forests of Aravallimountain forests.
After Project Waghoba was implemented, there has been no loss of life of leopards or humans since 2007 in areas near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
V A Chaturvedi, chief conservator of forest (CCF), Valsad told TOI, “With the increasing population of humans and wild cats in the region, the conflict is not going to decrease. We need to take urgent steps to limit this before the problem becomes unmanageable.”
Till now, forest officials used to lay a trap and catch the leopards and then release it to the forest. Department officials confirm that in many cases the leopards that were caught and released in far away forests in the same area, returned near the urban habitat in few years’ time.
“Best news I’ve heard all day…its the only way to stop these animals becoming extinct. If the poachers know they are at risk of being shot, hopefully it will make them think twice before risking it for rich moron further up the chain!”
NEW DELHI — A state in western India has declared war on animal poaching by allowing forest guards to shoot hunters on sight in an effort to curb rampant attacks on tigers and other wildlife.
The government in Maharashtra says injuring or killing suspected poachers will no longer be considered a crime.
Forest guards should not be “booked for human rights violations when they have taken action against poachers,” Maharashtra Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam said Tuesday. The state also will send more rangers and jeeps into the forest, and will offer secret payments to informers who give tips about poachers and animal smugglers, he said.
No tiger poachers have ever been shot in Maharashtra, though cases of illegal loggers and fishermen being shot have led to charges against forest guards, according to the state’s chief wildlife warden, S.W.H. Naqvi.
But the threat could act as a significant deterrent to wildlife criminals, conservationists said. A similar measure allowing guards to fire on poachers in Assam has helped the northeast state’s population of endangered one-horned rhinos recover.
“These poachers have lost all fear. They just go in and poach what they want because they know the risks are low,” said Divyabhanusinh Chavda, who heads the World Wildlife Fund in India and is a key member of the National Wildlife Board, which advises the prime minister. In many of India’s reserves, guards are armed with little more than sticks.
India faces intense international scrutiny over its tiger conservation, as it holds half of the world’s estimated 3,200 tigers in dozens of wildlife reserves set up since the 1970s, when hunting was banned.
Illegal poaching remains a stubborn and serious threat, with tiger parts in particular fetching high prices on the black market because of demand driven by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
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ABOUT THESE POSTS
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