Uttarakhand HC takes cognisance of orders to kill man-eater big cat

Nainital: The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday took suo motu cognisance of permission given by the Forest Department to kill an unidentified man-eater big cat in the vicinity of Bhimtal.

The order came after the animal killed two people in the area recently causing panic among the locals.

Hearing a PIL, the division bench of Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma and Justice Pankaj Purohit held that cameras should be installed to identify the attacking predatory animal and cages should be set up to catch it. And if all fails, then it should be tranquilised and sent to a rescue centre, they said.

"When the identity of the predator is not yet known, then how were the orders to kill it passed," the court asked.

The court heard the case after taking suo motu cognisance of the order of the Chief Wildlife Warden to kill the big cat that mauled to death two women in Bhimtal.

Under Section 11A of the Wildlife Protection Act, an animal can be killed after fulfilling certain conditions. It must be chased away from the area, then tranquilised and kept in a rescue centre and finally, the last and drastic order to kill it should be passed, the court said.

But the department directly gave orders to kill it without investigation. The court would next hear the matter on December 21.