It was at a hurriedly organised citizen’s meeting at Guwahati Press Club where serious concern was expressed at the increase in poaching and killing of wildlife in various parts of Assam.  A resolution at the meeting, held on December 30, urged the Assam government to direct  the forest department and its public relation wing to fight against the superstition involving various body parts of wild animals. Attended by a number wildlife and environment activists, the meeting also appealed to the government to enlighten the police personnel on the issue as well.

Various speakers raised their voice against the killing of tigers in the region. Tiger is the national animal of India, home to half of the world's tiger population. Very recently, a tiger was killed by the villagers in Goreswar in central Assam and some villagers even took away its flesh for eating. The incident shook   the conscience of the conservationists in particular and common people in general, as tiger meat is not commonly eaten in Assamese societies.

Earlier, a full-grown tigress was killed by the Assam police personnel in the first week of December near Kaziranga National Park. It was shot nearly 14 times by two Assam Police Battalion personnel who were wielding AK-47 rifles, after it escaped to Bochagaon village near the national park and attacked a few villagers. The state forest minister Rockybul Hussain had ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Initiated by activist-journalist Mubina Akhter, the press club meeting was attended and addressed by Soumyadeep Datta of Nature’s Beckon, Bibhab Talukder of Aranyak, Purnima Sarma of Early Birds, Satyaranjan Bora of Seuji Dharani Dhunia and many others.

The tiger census of January 2008 revealed that India had only 1,411 tigers alive. The number was 3,508 in 1997. In the early 90s, India's population of tigers was recorded to be nearly 40,000. Since 2008, there the number of tigers in India has gone up to 1,875, thanks to the conservation efforts. Assam takes pride in the fact that it is home nearly 15 percent of India’s tiger population. Five years back, Assam had 70 tigers. Today, it stands at over 100. However,  it also remains a state where the poaching of tigers I rampant with the others being  West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh,  Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala.

“Tigers and other wildlife are being regularly poached for use in Chinese traditional medicine. Many times, the superstition among various sections in the society instigates the killing of wildlife. Hence, public awareness is the need of the hour,” said Soumyadeep Datta.

He also criticised the state forest department for its ineffectiveness in making common people  partners in the conservation efforts. Datta pointed out that the publicity wing of the department has done  little in this respect.  “If a tiger is killed by some villagers and even the flesh is taken for eating, the forest department must take prompt actions against those involved. Moreover, its publicity wing should rush immediately to the location to understand the reasons behind this kind behavior of the villagers and pursue conservation of wildlife in those localities,” Datta added.

India enacted the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to provide for punishment for crimes against wildlife. The same year the tiger was selected as the national animal of India. The central government launched the project tiger the following year and upgraded many forest reserves for safeguarding tigers. Some of the important reserves where tigers should enjoy sanctuary include Manas National Park, Kaziranga National Park, Namdapha National Park, Nameri National Park (all in Assam), Packey Wildlife Sanctuary (Arunachal Pradesh), Dampa Wildlife Sanctuary (Mizoram) with Sunderban National Park, Corbett National Park, Kanha National Park, Sariska National Park, Pench Tiger Reserve, Tadoba Tiger Reserve, Periyar Tiger Reserve among the others.
“We have a number of wildlife protection rules but at the same time we need to sensitize the forest officials. The people living in the adjacent areas to wildlife reserves should also be enlightened on the process of conservation,” said Bibhab Talukder. He appealed everyone to take a pledge in the new year to preserve the wildlife and the environment. Talukder  said,  “Even being pro-people, we could be active conservationists.”

Both Purnima Sarma and Satyaranjan Bora emphasised on community involvement in the mission to preserve nature and conserve wildlife. They also insisted that the government and forest department play a proactive role.

Mubina Akhter expressed her anger at the lackadaisical approach of the authorities in the Kaziranga tigress shooting incident. No visible action has been taken against the police personnel involved.

She advocated a media sensitisation wildlife issues through the training of a group of dedicated reporters. Regular interaction among through a network and sufficient space for the issue in the mainstream newspaper and news channels would help the cause, she said.