Bear burnt alive in Jammu and Kashmir - WWF-India’s statement
In yet another incident of Human-Wildlife conflict, a bear was pelted, maimed and burnt alive by local villagers in Tral, Jammu and Kashmir, last month.
This is an extremely unfortunate case of retaliatory action by humans on a wild animal. However, this is not the first time when an animal that trespasses into human settlement has been subject to such brutality.
Human-Wildlife conflict has been on a rise in India due to loss and fragmentation of habitat owing mainly to development pressures. Poor preparedness infrastructure to handle such cases, lack of awareness among communities and lack of proper redresal mechanisms only make things worse. Furthermore, conservation is given a low priority at policy and implementation level.
WWF India has always addressed the issue of Human-Wildlife conflict and has been implementing mitigation strategies in most of the landscapes. The efforts are directed in coordination with various stakeholders – local NGOs, Forest Department, local communities – and aim to minimise such cases. But this is not enough. There is a need to upscale such coordinated efforts by the Government to reduce conflicts while addressing the issues related to habitat loss.
This is an extremely unfortunate case of retaliatory action by humans on a wild animal. However, this is not the first time when an animal that trespasses into human settlement has been subject to such brutality.
Human-Wildlife conflict has been on a rise in India due to loss and fragmentation of habitat owing mainly to development pressures. Poor preparedness infrastructure to handle such cases, lack of awareness among communities and lack of proper redresal mechanisms only make things worse. Furthermore, conservation is given a low priority at policy and implementation level.
WWF India has always addressed the issue of Human-Wildlife conflict and has been implementing mitigation strategies in most of the landscapes. The efforts are directed in coordination with various stakeholders – local NGOs, Forest Department, local communities – and aim to minimise such cases. But this is not enough. There is a need to upscale such coordinated efforts by the Government to reduce conflicts while addressing the issues related to habitat loss.
