How Poaching Syndicates in India and South-East Asia are Threatening the Indian Tiger Population
For generations now, the Indian tiger has been one of the world’s most beloved and iconic animals. Unfortunately, due to poaching syndicates operating in India and South-East Asia, the tiger population is now under threat.
In April this year, reports revealed that the number of tigers in India was estimated to be around 2,500, showing a healthy increase in the population. That said, statistics released just a few months later showed that poaching was responsible for about 37 percent of tiger deaths in the country with the number of killings rising.
These syndicates work by exploiting nomadic tribes, such as the Bawaria, Behlia and Pardhi tribes, who hunt tigers and then hand over the body parts to gangs of educated tech-savvy criminals based in countries like China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. These syndicates then use the body parts for a variety of uses, such as medicine, food, cosmetics or simply as gifts or souvenirs, with one dead tiger being worth a fortune.
Recent figures released from the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) showed that from January to August 2016, 31 tiger mortalities had been reported, with Madhya Pradesh leading the way with 20 of these deaths, six of which were poached directly. The 2nd highest figure was in Uttarakhand where six skins and 150 kg of bones were seized, with Karnataka third with one Tiger skull and bones as well as two claws.
The then Minister for Environment and Forests (MoEF), Prakash Javadekar, had this to say in April: “That is good news for India…(a result) of what we are doing for the last 12 years. We have zero tolerance towards poaching.”
Now, in October of this year, Bheema Bawaria, one of India’s most notorious tiger poachers, was finally arrested after 15 years of ‘evading capture’, using a variety of elaborate disguises. The arrest of Bheema Bawaria is just one step in the right direction for ending large-scale tiger poaching.
The problem is that poachers continue to outsmart the law with modern technology and sophisticated methods, leading to fears that they are likely to remain a high threat to the Indian tiger population for the foreseeable future.
Though governments around India are taking steps to reduce the harm inflicted by poaching syndicates, a better understanding of the syndicates, their methods and their motives is needed in order to protect the beloved and endangered Indian tiger population from being poached to extinction.
