Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam said last week he had issued orders to provide forest staff with firearms and decided to protect them from criminal proceedings should they use these against people caught poaching or smuggling forest wealth. “Poachers are out for supari killings of 25 tigers," he told The Indian Express. “Now if we don't prevent poachers from killing tigers, what are we expected to do? Officers raised the issue of problems faced by them in the field. By shooting freedom, I meant the officers have to take the call proportional to the situation and use guns if the situation warrants it. We will protect them if they have used guns as per prescriptions, and will not protect them if a magisterial inquiry reveals unwarranted firing."
Some of the supporters of the order have cited the need to contain timber smugglers, who are often armed. Tiger poachers, on the other hand, never use guns, said Nitin Desai, Central India director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India. This is because bullet holes would make the tiger skin unfit for the target market.
“The ground-level staff need basic training in understanding how poachers work," said Desai. “Poachers have generations of knowledge of how to finish off a job without getting noticed. They are not only experts in locating tigers but also thorough in understanding tiger behaviour, with contacts for intelligence and active help from locals." Read the full report here.
Source: Vivek Deshpande, Indian Express, Nagpur.
