Ending Gujarat’s monopoly as the only State to house Asiatic lions, the Supreme Court on Monday directed that a small portion of the 400-odd strong population of the critically endangered species, be translocated from Gir to Kuno Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
The switch, to be effective in six months, would require the Centre to constitute an expert committee to study the number of lions to be shifted, based on prey density and guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on re-introduction of critically endangered species.
The apex court said that in matters of preserving and developing critically endangered flora and fauna, it is essential to decide in the “best interest” of the species to be protected. Setting this principle, the Court urged the Centre to bring out an exclusive Parliamentary legislation to preserve and protect other endangered species, which included the great Indian bustard, wild buffalo, Bengal florican, dugong and Manipur brow antlered deer among others.
The population of Gir lions was roughly about 400, and fears of a forest fire or epidemic affecting the entire population of the only existing sub-population of Asiatic lions led the Court to pass this order.
Gujarat objected to the proposal as it claimed that lion was a “family member” of the State and in it rested the pride of Gujarat.
Trashing this argument, the bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and CK Prasad said: “Animals in the wild are properties of the nation for which no State can claim ownership. The State’s duty is to protect the wildlife and conserve it, for ensuring the ecological and environmental security of the country.”
It asked the States not to approach such matters with a narrow family-centric or human-centric approach but an eco-centric approach.
“In such an approach, only the best interest of the species must be regarded,” it added.
Another proposal of the Centre to introduce African cheetahs from Namibia into Kuno, the same place that was to house the lions, was shot down by the Court. It prioritised the re-introduction of a native species, i.e. Asiatic lions over the introduction of a foreign species, particularly when lions were critically endangered. Moreover, the National Board of Wildlife was not consulted on this proposal, which served as another ground for rejection.
Using this opportunity to urge the Centre to play its precious part in saving animals on brink of extinction, the Court directed urgent recovery programmes to be initiated by MoEF for preserving endangered species of flora and fauna. The Government was further asked to conduct periodic reviews to correlate with the IUCN’s endangered species list known as “Red list” every three years.