Lion baiting in Gir

Now adding to the park's disrepute are unofficial ‘lion baiting' shows being organised by farmers living in the park's vicinity. Insensitive foreign tourists are paying up to 100 pounds sterling to watch Asiatic lions kill tethered cattle in the Gir National Park. The lions are lured outside the park to villages on the fringes using tethered cattle. The waiting tour group then watches the hapless animals being killed and eaten from a distance of less than three metres, in much the same way as Chinese tiger farms earn money by selling tickets for the macabre sight of tigers killing domestic animals. Reports suggest that the villagers are aided by tour guides and some junior park officials also stand accused. According to some sources, claims are simultaneously made for official compensation for cattle kills.

June 2008