Madhya Pradesh High Court Seeks Status Report On Tiger Reserves Following Big Cat Mortalities
The bench’s directive came in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mumbai-based lawyer Subrat Chaktraborty: Reports
BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh high court has directed the state government to file a status report on all nine tiger reserves in MP following the death of eight big cats recently.
A division bench of Justices Anand Pathak and B P Sharma also sought a report detailing measures to curb the Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) infection, causing the death of eight tigers in the Kanha National Park in the state recently.
The bench’s directive came in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mumbai-based lawyer Subrat Chaktraborty.
Mr. Chakraborty, in his PIL, said that eight tigers died in April and May, including tigresses, T-122 (Sunaina), and T-141 (Amahi) and the latter’s four sub-adult cubs and an adult tiger, T-220 (Mahavir).
The state government has submitted that 2,000 dogs in the vicinity of the Kanha National Park have been vaccinated against CDV.
The court however insisted on a foolproof preventive strategy and sought a detailed response on vaccinating dogs and measures to prevent infections not only in Kanha but in other tiger reserves in the state.
The court also directed the state government to strictly follow the directives by the supreme court concerning tiger reserves.
The bench has posted the matter for next hearing on August 17.
According to green activist Ajey Dubey, as many as 40 tigers have died in the reserves in the state since January.
The state had lost 55 tigers last year.
Madhya Pradesh has earned the tag of ‘Tiger State’ for being home to 785 tigers, as per the last census.