Proposed wildlife law amendments put govt in a fix
3 Oct 2013 11:48 PM GMT
The proposed amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 is giving the government a tough time.
The Ministry of Environment & Forests, amidst claims to make the legislation, ‘tougher’, has indicated that it would make no major changes to the draft amendment, currently pending in the Rajya Sabha.
Several wildlife NGOs and environmentalists have objected to the proposed version of the bill, which has completely turned-around the definition of the wild animal, from ‘any animal specified in schedules I to IV and found wild in nature’ to ‘any animal specified in schedules I to IV or found wild in nature’.
Wildlife experts fear that the proposed definition makes the act vulnerable to misuse as under the proposed law, any animal found in nature will be considered as wild animal.
‘All fish, outside of those bred and kept in captivity in the fish farms, will be considered as wild animals and will come under the purview of certain provisions of the act. Thus, no person will be allowed to sell fish, or cook it and serve it, unless he has the license from the Chief Wildlife Warden of the concerned state and no person will be allowed to purchase fish unless it is from an authorised dealer,’ said Avinash Bhasker, legal consultant with the Wildlife Protection Society of India, which has sent its suggestions, along with the Wildlife Society of Orissa and Aaranyak.
‘Wildlife Act is a criminal legislation and the proposed draft has lots of ambiguity. The draft implies protection to all species found wild in nature but the kinds of protection, along with certain other contents need to be made clear, in order to avoid any future misuse,’ Bhasker said.
Experts have also objected to the provision of inclusion of all kinds of animal traps used for retraining or capturing an animal. In order to check misuse, experts have suggested in to be restricted to leg traps only.
For general, offences, the present Act lays out imprisonment for up to three years or a fine extending up to Rs. 25000, or both but the revised version, has changed this imprisonment up to three years and also with a fine up to Rs. 25000.
‘This will mean that an imprisonment term will be mandatory even for a minor offence. It will also remove any scope for leniency from judges or forest officers while dealing with the crime and more importantly, the provision will deter scientists and researchers from undertaking work in this field,’ said a wildlife expert.
Sidelining the concerns of the environmentalists and wildlife activists, a top wildlife official of the Environment Ministry said, ‘The bill has been prepared after years of our experience in dealing with wildlife crime matters. All these aspects are being looked into. As for confusion on certain species, the chief wildlife wardens of states can notify the exceptions and list of licenced items.’
Ashok Kumar of the Wildlife Trust of India said, ‘The new version has many flaws and it won’t be passed in its current form in the Upper House. We are in process of suggesting modifications.’
The Ministry of Environment & Forests, amidst claims to make the legislation, ‘tougher’, has indicated that it would make no major changes to the draft amendment, currently pending in the Rajya Sabha.
Several wildlife NGOs and environmentalists have objected to the proposed version of the bill, which has completely turned-around the definition of the wild animal, from ‘any animal specified in schedules I to IV and found wild in nature’ to ‘any animal specified in schedules I to IV or found wild in nature’.
Wildlife experts fear that the proposed definition makes the act vulnerable to misuse as under the proposed law, any animal found in nature will be considered as wild animal.
‘All fish, outside of those bred and kept in captivity in the fish farms, will be considered as wild animals and will come under the purview of certain provisions of the act. Thus, no person will be allowed to sell fish, or cook it and serve it, unless he has the license from the Chief Wildlife Warden of the concerned state and no person will be allowed to purchase fish unless it is from an authorised dealer,’ said Avinash Bhasker, legal consultant with the Wildlife Protection Society of India, which has sent its suggestions, along with the Wildlife Society of Orissa and Aaranyak.
‘Wildlife Act is a criminal legislation and the proposed draft has lots of ambiguity. The draft implies protection to all species found wild in nature but the kinds of protection, along with certain other contents need to be made clear, in order to avoid any future misuse,’ Bhasker said.
Experts have also objected to the provision of inclusion of all kinds of animal traps used for retraining or capturing an animal. In order to check misuse, experts have suggested in to be restricted to leg traps only.
For general, offences, the present Act lays out imprisonment for up to three years or a fine extending up to Rs. 25000, or both but the revised version, has changed this imprisonment up to three years and also with a fine up to Rs. 25000.
‘This will mean that an imprisonment term will be mandatory even for a minor offence. It will also remove any scope for leniency from judges or forest officers while dealing with the crime and more importantly, the provision will deter scientists and researchers from undertaking work in this field,’ said a wildlife expert.
Sidelining the concerns of the environmentalists and wildlife activists, a top wildlife official of the Environment Ministry said, ‘The bill has been prepared after years of our experience in dealing with wildlife crime matters. All these aspects are being looked into. As for confusion on certain species, the chief wildlife wardens of states can notify the exceptions and list of licenced items.’
Ashok Kumar of the Wildlife Trust of India said, ‘The new version has many flaws and it won’t be passed in its current form in the Upper House. We are in process of suggesting modifications.’
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