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Maneka warns State against growing poaching of animals

Staff Reporter

National-level workshop held on animal laws, management and welfare

Photo: Ashoke Chakrabart

MEETING OF MINDS: Former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at a workshop in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

BHUBANESWAR: Former Union Minister and noted animal activist Maneka Gandhi on Friday warned that the poaching concentration would shift to Orissa in the coming days as it was the only State that was still left with wealth of animal and bird life.

"There will be largest amount of poaching concentration in Orissa. The poachers have already finished raping Uttar Pradesh, there is nothing left in Bihar except cows, all tigers in West Bengal have been killed and Rajasthan is historic place for poaching," Ms Gandhi said.

She was addressing animal activists and wildlife officials on animal laws, management and welfare at a workshop organised by People for Animals here on Friday.

Pointing out that the State was increasingly witnessing wildlife trade, Ms Gandhi said "a war is going on in Orissa. It is silent because we have not recognised it as an open war." "Today Andhra Pradesh has huge illegal cow trading. All these cows are going from Orissa. They are taken in night in overloaded trucks to Andhra Pradesh. From there, the cows are exported for leather and beef trade," the animal activist said.

"The trade is worth Rs 8 crores per month, some amount is given as bribe to allow trucks go through. The price of cows, which used to be less than Rs 1,000, would touch Rs 20,000 within five years. The cows will become extinct one day," Ms Gandhi said. The impact would be disastrous as small and marginal farmers would find it very difficult to get cows to plough their fields, she warned.

"This is a war against Orissa which has to be fought with." Ms Gandhi said, "knowledge, material, information and funds needed to tackle the situation. A wealth of wildlife was going out but police have no idea. You need to pay informers to bridge the link."

She said seagulls, which had a value of Rs 2.5 lakhs, came from Orissa to New Delhi and from there they were smuggled out to middle-east.

"There are 1200 bears and most of them are in Orissa now. The animals are smuggled out from the state and sent to Pakistan for bear and dog fight," Ms Gandhi said.

Funds sought

She requested Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to make budgetary provisions for State Animal Welfare Board, allow police and municipality officials to undergo training to save animals, take step to completely prohibit animal sacrifice and appoint more and more honorary wildlife wardens as they would be frontal force to fight the menace. Reacting to Ms Gandhi's plea, Mr Patnaik declared that, "the state government is reconstituting the board and trying to mobilise funds from centre for protecting wildlife in the state."

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