The office of the Chief Wildlife Warden had issued orders between December 2007 and August 2009, authorising divisional forest officers to kill or appoint hunters to shoot blue bulls, wild boars and rhesus macaques deemed dangerous to human life or property. However, in a letter to the Inspector General of Forests, Wildlife (MoEF) and the additional director of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, People for Animals has stressed that these orders are illegal as prior approval of the State government in writing is necessary for issuing such orders.
In the letter, PFA Uttarakhand member secretary Gauri Maulekhi states that wild boar, blue bull and rhesus macaque are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act.
The Act States that the CWW or the authorised officer may, if he is satisfied that any wild animal specified in Schedule II, III or IV has become dangerous to human life or property or is so disabled or diseased as to be beyond recovery, by order in writing, and stating the reasons, permit any person to hunt such animal or groups of animals in a specified area or cause such animal or groups of animals in that specified area to be hunted. However, the Act also States that such power can be delegated only with the approval of the State Government.
According to her, “It has been established by information procured under RTI Act that the CWW has not taken any permission from the State Government before delegating such powers to the DFOs. The delegation is arbitrary, illegal and has lead to widespread hunting of wildlife in the State.
This breach of a permit granted under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 is punishable by imprisonment upto 3 years or a fine of upto Rs 25,000 or with both. This anomaly was brought to the notice of the CWW SS Sharma in May last year but he ignored it,” said Maulekhi. Talking to The Pioneer, Sharma said that the orders in question have not been withdrawn.