Happy hunting

The tales of bumbling babudom are a legion, but the latest one can still raise a chuckle. In mid-December, one of our correspondents filed a story on how the well-heeled and influential of the states of Haryana and Punjab have developed a taste for hunting wild boar and other game in the Ropar Kandi area near Chandigarh, even while forest officials swear that no shikar takes place in the region. A few weeks later the story drew a response at last — but not the required one. Instead of ordering an inquiry into the issue or stepping up surveillance in the area, the authorities preferred to haul up the Indian Express correspondent who filed that story for allegedly participating in the hunt! With hamhanded responses like this, is it any wonder that conservation in this country finds itself in a pathetic state? The state of tiger is documented well enough and even a schoolchild knows that the species will soon be extinct if an open war is not declared on poachers and illegal traders. What is lessknown is that India is steadily losing out on numerous other species of bird and beast thanks to its careless, even cavalier, approach to its natural life.

What the report on Ropar Kandi bears out is that if the people who poach are powerful enough they have a good chance of escaping the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972. The law specifically bans a person from hunting any wild animal specified in Schedule 1 of the Act. Hunting other animals requires special game hunting licences. But a law, alas, is only as good as the enforcers allow it to be, especially in a situation where one’s station in life determines the certainty or otherwise of punishment. So while a poor villager may be hauled up for the crime of poaching, the big guns — even if they are caught — invariably get away double quick. As the Pataudis did a few years ago. Their famous duck shoot at the invitation of a J&K politician, is just an example of how easy it is for the VIP to escape scrutiny.

It’s now over two years since Salman Khan and other film stars like Satish Shah, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam were chargesheeted for allegedly poaching the protected blackbuck near Mathania village in Jodhpur district. While Khan had a brief spell in jail, the others were released on bail. Precious little has come of the case thus far, even the process of cross-examination has not been completed. Then there is the other celebrated case of the current Speaker of the Lok Sabha participating in a feast where some exotic meats were served — and what could be more exotic than the flesh of birds which figure on the Protected List, forbidden fruit being all the more sweet? Again, no action worth the name has been taken in the case. It is difficult to stop species loss due to natural factors like population growth and the consequent loss of habitat. But surely something should be done to check the predatory habits of the Homo Sapien, the greatest of the great apes, who’ve discovered the joys of thekill?