Strengthen efforts to protect tigers & Asiatic Lions

27-4-2007

The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/27/stories/2007042702291500.htm

 

Expresses concern at lack of wildlife protection in protected areas and outside 

 

NEW DELHI : A Parliamentary panel has called for strengthening anti-poaching measures to protect tigers and Asiatic lions.

 

The department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forests, in its 174th report, expressed concern at the lack of protection for wildlife not only in the protected areas, but also outside.

 

The committee wanted to know the immediate actions taken by the Government, following reports that Asiatic lions were killed in the Gir wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat, their only habitat in the world, and the measures being taken to prevent it.

 

The panel felt that the killings must have been the handiwork of poachers, as lion's claw and hide were highly priced in the international market.

 

It said China was considering lifting the ban on the domestic trade of tiger body parts and would like its need to be met by tiger farms. It asked the Union Environment and Forests Ministry what steps were being initiated as there were apprehensions that this would be an added incentive for poachers in India.