As massive efforts are underway to “hunt” Tiger T23 after it killed four persons, the Madras High Court on Tuesday told the Tamil Nadu Forest Department not to “go for the kill immediately” while observing that the big cat may not be a man-eater.
The observations were passed by the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu on a petition filed by People for Cattle in India (PCFI) against the order by Tamil Nadu Chief Wildlife Warden Shekar Kumar Niraj issued an order to hunt the tiger.
“Don’t go for the kill immediately. It may not be a man-eater. It may have been misunderstood,” the first bench said, asking the state government to file a status report after Dussehra holidays. During the hearing, the counsel for the state government told the court that the Forest Department does not intend to kill the tiger but was trying to capture the big cat.
The court’s order came as massive efforts to trace and capture the tiger in Nilgiris district entered the 10th day on Tuesday. Forest Department has formed several special teams to capture the big cat but in vain.
PCFI moved the court after Niraj had on October 1 issued an order to “hunt” T23 after concluding that the big cat has “become very dangerous” to human life in the area.
The order was issued after the Forest Department came under severe pressure from locals after the news of the tiger fatally attacking its fourth target spread like wildfire on October one. Villagers in Masinagudi and Gudalur complain that the tiger has been wreaking havoc in the area.
The decision to hunt the “problematic tiger” was taken under Section 11 (1) (a) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The section says the Chief Wildlife Warden may, if he is satisfied that any wild animal specified in Schedule I has become dangerous to human life or is so disabled or diseased as to be beyond recovery, by order in writing and stating the reasons therefore, permit any person to hunt such animal or cause such animal to be hunted.
The forest department launched an operation to capture T23 on September 24 after the big cat killed a 56-year-old man. Special teams were formed for the capture of the tiger and five cages were placed in vital locations.
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