New Delhi, 29th July, 2019: According to results of a tiger census made public on July 29 by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India has 2,967 tigers, a third more than in 2014. As the collective voice of the animal rights movement in India, Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations (FIAPO) welcomes the rise in tiger populations across the country.
However, we note that human-animal conflict is also on the rise, and each year nearly 100 tigers are poached or poisoned. This is an alarming figure and needs urgent attention.
Recently, a tigress was brutally beaten to death in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh due to similar conflict. These reactive conflicts have been escalating because of overpopulation, loss of habitat, encroachment, climate change and call for an all-encompassing strategy to target poaching, poisoning and lynching, inclusive of trainings for the tiger saviours and the people who live closely with these magnificent creatures.
FIAPO believes that the time has come where conserving wildlife should also include welfare of wildlife, and a consideration of their interests. This will help alleviate the burgeoning issue we are facing as a country and loss of lives, both human and animal.
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