Poaching of tiger siblings: Forest minister visits site, mother tigress still missing

PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Haridwar

Soon after the alleged poaching of two tiger siblings-a male and a female- and cutting of their paws in Shyampur range of Haridwar forest division came to the fore sparking outrage across the State, the Forest minister Subodh Uniyal inspected the site on Wednesday and obtained detailed information from officials about the wildlife crime. 

The mother of the two slain siblings is still missing and efforts are on to trace it, the senior Forest officials told the minister while briefing him on the investigation, search operation, and actions taken so far. Those who accompanied the minister included the divisional forest officer, Anirudh Swapnil, sub-divisional forest officer, Poonam Kainthola and ranger Vinay Kumar Rathi.

Expressing deep concerns over the incident,  Uniyal stated that wildlife protection is the State government’s top priority.  He directed the officials to conduct a fair and thorough investigation and ensure strict legal action against the culprits. He also directed them to intensify patrolling in the forest areas and maintain strict surveillance on the wildlife poachers and smugglers. 

The DFO Anirudh Swapnil said that the search for the tigress was still on.  “Several forest department teams are conducting a joint search operation with local police and the Forest department’s Special Task Force. Surveillance in the area has been intensified, too,” he added.

The locals have, however, struck a different note, alleging apathy on the part of the Forest department in curbing wildlife crimes.  They say that the department’s claims regarding wildlife protection and patrolling ring hollow.  “The patrolling is confined to populated areas while sensitive areas affected by mining and wildlife smuggling are not regularly patrolled. Illegal activities have been going on in the Shyampur area for a long time, but the Forest department has never taken effective action,” said a local.