29 Arrested In Arson Attack After Tiger kills Teacher In Madhya Pradesh

“I totally understand the loss of a loved one & the fear factor that big cats are prowling around; but I hardly think burning Forest Official vehicles, is going to help the matter. If anything it will have hindered the Forest Officials from tracking the tiger!  The problem is obvious, the big cats are losing their forests & the animals they would normally pray on. I don’t think a tiger can be called a man-eater, he isn’t biased about what he eats…he just has to eat to survive! Granted humans shouldn’t be on the menu, but if there is no meat left to hunt in the wild, of course they are going to stalk areas where they see food; i.e humans! Their habitat is being cut down for wood & to grow crops or build houses; so the tigers have no way to survive…they will kill anything when hungry. I’m sure they would rather stick to their own diet of forest animals but if there are none, due to lack of habitat, what do you expect? They can’t survive on fresh air!!”

“I’m sure the Forest officers were just as shaken by the latest tragedy’s & intend on trying to find & relocate the tiger! I hope & pray they get hold of that tiger before the villagers do, because once they get into mob mode, it’s a free for all, who knows what they will do to the tiger. Perhaps burn & torture it like they did when they caught a leopard poaching on human land! However, even if the tiger is caught & relocated, I’ll bet there is another tiger, just waiting to take its place! Something radical has to be done to save both human & animals from being killed…They must stop cutting down the tigers habitat, which includes the tigers natural pray. Or use the land to build more houses & grow more crops to fulfill India’s growing population. The attacks on humans won’t stop, until humans stop poaching the tigers habitat & food supply!! “

P Naveen,TNN | Oct 25, 2014, 06.06 PM IST

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh police on Saturday arrested 29 people over an arson attack after a school teacher was mauled to death a tiger in near Bandhavgarh National Park in Katni district on Friday.

The mob had attacked forest personnel, including local forest range officer while keeping some of them hostage, besides policemen and local journalists.

They said forest officers were overlooking the fact that some tigers had turned into man-eaters. 

Two motorized vessels and a dozen vehicles owned by the department were also set on fire, said officials. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were issued to bring situation under control. Amod Lakda (55), posted at Karchulia village’s government middle school, was attacked by the tiger in the buffer area near a water tank inside Khitouli range. He was a native of Chhattisgarh‘s Jashpur area.

Villagers claim this was the fourth incident of an attack by a big cat. Forest officers had been ignoring their pleas to shift the tiger. They say the matter was taken with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but in vain.

“Extensive damage has been caused to forest department property. The death of a teacher following tiger attack provoked people to go berserk,” said Narendra Kumar, chief wildlife warden.

Meanwhile forest officers have launched a hunt for the tiger for shifting it to a safe location.

News Link:–http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/29-arrested-in-arson-attack-after-tiger-kills-teacher-in-Madhya-Pradesh/articleshow/44933010.cms?intenttarget=no&utm_source=TOI_AShow_OBWidget&utm_medium=Int_Ref&utm_campaign=TOI_AShow

UPDATE: Circus Malta: Petition Supporting Animal Circuses Gains 5,000 Signatures

Thursday 9 January 2014

Most animal charities & the public want to see a ban worldwide of wild animals being used in circuses. Now the owner of this circus is circulating his own petition to keep his Malta circus open. So please if you don’t agree with animals performing degrading tricks, kept behind bars & of course the cruelty that has been documented in circuses: PLEASE SIGN THE PETITIONS BELOW. We can’t let this circus continue, if it does through its petition, the flood gates for circuses using wild animals may open again; that would be tragic after all the hard work has been done to stop them!!

Circus promoter says 2013 could be last year for animal circuses in Malta due to the proposed ban.

But circus promoter Silvio Zammit has collected 5,000 signatures as part of a petition to overturn a proposal to ban animal circuses.

The circus has now moved to Ghajnsielem, Gozo, where Zammit hopes to continue collecting more signatures. The petition will then be passed on to the competent authorities.

Zammit, who has been bringing circuses to Malta for the past 16 years, said he could not allow the banning of animal circuses from Malta without taking any action.

“It was a personal initiative after finding out that the government had moved on to publish a White Paper proposing to ban animal circuses,” he said.

See all the animals, such as, Long horn cattle, Donkeys, Lama, Camels, Lions, Tigers, Zebra, Elephant, Giraffe, Baboon, Horses, Ponies, Donkeys performing pitiful & degrading acts; acts they would never do in the wild. The animal acts stop at 12 mins; then the human artists perform!I believe the only thing not seen is the Hippo; but is in a video below!!

Circo Orfei Floriana Malta 1st January 2012

Uploaded on 2 Jan 2012 – By levelone12

He argued that only 390 persons took part in the consultation process initiated by the government, of which 49% said they were against such a circus.

“We know that the majority of these were NGOs, and NGOs do not reflect popular opinion. I am doing this petition on my own. I know that there are many others who would like to sign it, but I have neither the time nor the manpower to go on a nation-wide petition,” Zammit said.

He said he was “very happy” with the number of signatures collected: “This shows that the Maltese do love the circus. They won’t flood the streets of Valletta with placards to support the circus.”

He also said that a number of MPs from both sides of the House visited Circo Orfei this winter. “Some came with their children while others accompanied their grandchildren. They thanked me for the level of the show and all said they had fun,” Zammit said.

He however refused to name them.

The debate as to whether Malta should ban animal circuses for good has been going on for a number of years, with animal rights NGOs insisting that circuses solely operate to maximise profits while completely disregarding the safety of the animals and the adverse effects they may impose.

Animal Rights Coalition said veterinarians only attend to the animal’s physical needs and as a result, the psychological issues brought about by the circuses are not being addressed.

With a number of countries moving to ban animal circuses for good, Zammit said in Italy alone there were 800 circuses. He said the UK was one of the countries which will stop animal circuses as from next year. “But this was the result of many circuses caught mistreating their animals,” he said, adding that the circus he brought to Malta did not see animals performing any tricks and only a minimal part of the show was dedicated to animals.

Zammit argued that the circus animals were born in captivity “and therefore they do not know otherwise. Their trainers threat them like their pets”.

He said Animal Welfare Department officials and veterinarians made regular checks to verify that the animals were well-kept.

Circo Orfei’s travelling team is made up of 60 people, whose living depends on the shows, Zammit said.

“This is their life. They are a community who live on the road and have been doing so for years on end. This is how they earn a living… their bread and butter,” he said.

The Animal Rights Coalition has also called for a full ban on dolphinaria and aquaria. The coalition has said it was unjust to deny dolphins the right to roam free in their natural habitat and called for the ban on dolphinariums as these restrict the creatures to a mere pool.

The Coalition also said that this should extend to aquaria as in this case, animals are likewise being “confined to cages and restricted from roaming in their natural habitat”.

Protesters outside circus. Image from http://www.timesofmalta.com –

But Zammit feels that two weights and two measures were being applied when talking about animal circuses and aquaria.

He also said that circuses gave people the opportunity to see animals which would otherwise require them to travel abroad to zoos or safaris.

He insisted that a proper discussion was required and said he agreed that animals like elephants, pandas and monkeys should be banned. “What we have in our circus are horses, ponies, donkeys and tigers,” he said, adding that tigers in captivity lived for an average of 25 years while those in the wild lived for 12 years.

Circo Orfei also has a hippo and an emu as part of their travelling repertoire. 

News Link:–http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Petition-supporting-animal-circuses-gains-5-000-signatures-20140108

Petitions to ban wild animals in circuses:-We must get the ban in place before this circus succeeds with their petition to continue

• http://www.thepetitionsite.com/114/712/149/ban-animal-circuss-in-malta/
• http://www.thepetitionsite.com/971/361/878/ban-the-use-of-wild-animals-in-us-circuses/
• http://www.change.org/petitions/dolphins-don-t-belong-in-traveling-circus
• http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/animalslavery/
• http://www.thepetitionsite.com/112/127/279/stop-brian-boswells-circus/
• http://www.thepetitionsite.com/903/573/553/no-bears-at-the-bolshoi-circus/
• http://forcechange.com/91545/commend-ban-on-wild-animals-in-circuses/
• http://www.stopcircussuffering.com/ – Petition is within the link

Published on 7 Jan 2013 – This video shows the hippo in the ring, but its towards the end of the video, after the trapeze act! What the hell is a hippo doing in a circus? Bloody outrageous!! Search Circo Orfei on You Tube to see all the animals when not entertaining  :-http://youtu.be/GEMx3YVIRmg 

Published on 10 Jan 2013 – Tiger & Lion Act:-http://youtu.be/aHeMPaW_d20

Published on 6 Sep 2013 – This is about the lions & tigers in the outside enclosure plus RARE WHITE LIONS & TIGERS?? Are they interbreeding??:-http://youtu.be/K40RjOFsX4c

My previous posts on circus in Malta etc.:–

• https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/last-two-animal-circuses-in-malta-before-ban-imposed-petitions-to-sign/
• https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/animal-circuses-may-be-banned-in-malta-by-end-of-the-year-petitions-to-sign/

Britain’s biggest wild animal circus sells its animals

“Well that explains where Mr Lacey’s tigers are going…from one circus to another…shameful”

Posted: 22 August 2012. Updated: 23 August 2012

The largest wild animal circus in the UK is selling off its animals. Martin Lacey, owner of the Great British Circus told Horse and Hound magazine that he plans to go animal free.

Jan Creamer, President of ADI said: “We have shown incidents of animal cruelty and suffering at the Great British Circus on a number of occasions, so we are pleased that animals will no longer suffer in this circus. We welcome the news that the circus is to go animal free – businesses can continue successfully with just human performers and there are many shows that do that. We can only hope that this provides an incentive for the Government to bring in a ban, while there are so few wild animals in UK circuses. The public and parliament both want it, and it would draw a line under this archaic use of animals once and for all.”

In 2009, ADI secured video footage of the elephants touring with the Great British Circus being viciously abused behind the scenes, by a worker and presenter. ADI also revealed how the circus had presented Parliament with claims that they did not chain elephants, yet continuous video evidence showed elephants chained every day, for up to 11 hours.

A previous investigation of the circus (then known as Circus Harlequin), filmed tigers being beaten and screamed at, a lioness being smashed in the mouth by a tent pole, and a seriously injured lioness being concealed during a welfare inspection.

• Donate now and help us undertake more investigations and secure a ban in the UK.
• Read our response to calls for the animals to be purchased here

Mr Lacey’s group of four Friesians, a zebra and two other horses that perform a “little and large” act are advertised for sale in Horse and Hound. Mr Lacey said four other zebras had gone to a private collector along with some camels.

A Great British Circus worker recently informed an ADI investigator that the tigers currently with the circus are to be sold to an Italian Circus, although this has yet to be confirmed

Several other major British circuses once known for wild animal acts have become animal-free shows, including Gerry Cottle’s Circus (currently touring) and Chipperfield’s Circus.

Jan Creamer: “It’s very sad that Mr Lacey has not shown compassion and retired his tigers, who have earned so much money for him, and suffered an arduous, deprived life in the travelling circus. We would certainly help with rehoming as we have done with many circus animals. This just underscores the point that these animals are not family, they are tools and now they are no longer needed, they are being sold on.”

ADI currently has in its care 31 lions rescued from circuses.

News Link:–http://www.ad-international.org/animals_in_entertainment/go.php?id=2780&ssi=10

• Read more about our investigation of the Great British Circus here.

Eight suspected tiger poachers held near Pench Tiger Reserve

BHOPAL: Eight suspected poachers were 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.

News Link:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Eight-suspected-tiger-poachers-held-near-Pench-Tiger-Reserve/articleshow/13537758.cms

The clock ticks for the Sunderbans and the Royal Bengal tiger

Image via Wikipedia

Sunderbans in West Bengal is the largest single block of tidal mangrove forest in the world and is a World Heritage Site. The mangrove forest is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mud flats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangroves. The area is better known as the home of the Royal Bengal tiger.

But the mangrove is facing threat now due to neglect. “At least 15 per cent of the Sunderbans will be submerged by 2020 and neglecting the area further can have global implications as it is highly vulnerable to climate change,” warns a UNDP (United Nation’s Development Programme) report.

via The clock ticks for the Sunderbans and the Royal Bengal tiger.

Related articles

• Endangered Royal Bengal Tiger Killed! (shaikhmohiruddin.wordpress.com)
• Tigress ‘terrorises Sundarbans’ (bbc.co.uk)
• India’s first tiger rescue centre in Sunderbans – The Times of India (greatcatsoftheworld.wordpress.com)
• Thailand: $60,000 of Tiger Parts Seized by Customs (ibtimes.com)