Centre fails to rein in tiger poaching

NEW DELHI: Will there be no end to poaching of wild animals in the country? While actor Salman Khan's conviction is a rare case of a poacher being punished, there are hundreds of tiger-killers who are running scot-free, said a senior officer and wildlife expert.

Among steps taken by the government for tiger protection, there is a National Tiger Conservation Authority to ensure basic norms and standards in tiger reserve management, and laying annual audit report before Parliament.

The multi-disciplinary Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau is the latest to shore up the fight. But all these have not yet started yielding results. According to minister of state for environment and forests, S Reghupathy, 10 lions were killed last year, while 35 were killed in each of the previous two years.

Eight tigers are already killed this year as against 14 last year. Tiger poaching goes unabated because of the lucrative market for its body parts, said YV Jhala of Wildlife Institute of India.