(10-30-2018, 02:15 AM)Jeffrey Wrote: This is really bad news for wildlife: China has announced that it will allow hospitals to use tiger bone and rhino horn from captive-bred animals for traditional medicine. We’re urgently calling on China to maintain the 1993 ban on tiger bone and rhino horn trade and to extend it to cover trade in all tiger parts and products.

In an enormous setback for wildlife conservation, China announced it will allow hospitals to use tiger bone and rhino horn from captive-bred animals for traditional medicine. The decision reverses a decades-old ban that has been instrumental in preventing the extinction of endangered tigers and rhinos.
“China’s decision to reopen a legalized trade in farmed tiger bone and rhino horn reverses 25 years of conservation progress in reducing the demand for these products in traditional Chinese medicine and improving the effectiveness of law enforcement,” said Leigh Henry, director of wildlife policy, WWF-US. “This devastating reversal by China runs completely counter to the image of wildlife champion the world had come to expect with China’s ivory trade ban, which was such a positive development for the world’s elephants.”
WWF urgently calls on China to not only maintain their 1993 ban on tiger bone and rhino horn trade, but to also extend it to cover trade in all tiger parts and products, regardless of whether they’re from captive-bred or wild animals. 
The new regulations say hospitals can obtain parts from captive facilities within China—excluding zoos—where tigers and rhinos are bred for commercial purposes. Experts estimate that more than 6,500 tigers live in China’s tiger farms, far outnumbering the roughly 3,900 remaining in the wild.
The 1993 ban significantly curbed the demand for tiger and rhino parts from what has long been considered the worlds’ largest consumer market for such products. Over the years, China has taken significant steps to implement and enforce this ban through public education campaigns, promotion of effective substitutes for tiger and rhino medicines, and strengthening law enforcement. Allowing the legal market for such parts to resume will be detrimental conservation efforts, potentially fueling the demand for these products and increasing poaching of wild tigers and rhinos.
China has been a leader in the conservation of majestic species such as elephants, and WWF is optimistic that the country will recognize its role in the illegal tiger and rhino trade and maintain the ban.   

https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/in-a-blow-to-wildlife-china-lifts-a-ban-on-the-use-of-tiger-and-rhino-parts?utm_campaign=species&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com

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(10-30-2018, 04:40 AM)Roflcopters Wrote: Captive or wild, this should never be allowed. this is a big loss.

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(11-05-2018, 04:28 AM)Jeffrey Wrote: Representational images of Avni

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(11-05-2018, 06:37 PM)Rishi Wrote:

(11-05-2018, 04:28 AM)Jeffrey Wrote: Representational images of Avni

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Yes, those^three are not her images.

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Also, officials are claiming a dart was first fired at T1 in an attempt to tranquillize it and it was followed by shooting a bullet in self-defence when she charged at the team members.

But questions are being raised on the truth of it. The team charged with her post-mortem found lungs of T1 were punctured.

“When the tigress charged at the team it should have been face-to-face and the bullet should have hit on its head, shoulder, or chest but it clearly hit the left side and went out of right side,” sources said, “This shows it was shot from the left side. The dart is also on the left side."

A wildlife crime expert also said, “If the tigress charged at the team T1 should have been shot from the front and not from the side.” (She could be veering sideways though, as tigers often do while charging)

Some claimed that (i think so too as well) the dart appears to be manually pierced into the left side of T1 ostensibly to show it was darted. A vet who looked at the carcass said that the dart needle did not seem shot by the gun as it had not penetrated deep.

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The cubs are 11 months old and bigger than a leopard. They have not been with the mother for the last three months, since the attach for Avni has been going on. They are now living independently.

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Source:

(11-05-2018, 04:28 AM)Jeffrey Wrote: T-1 Avni is dead... The 5 years old tigress mother of 2 cubs was shot dead and her 2 cubs are left behind...


 Representational images of Avni

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The 5-year-old big cat was shot dead in cold blood on bait without any tranquilizing efforts.

T1 was shot by Hyderabad-based sharp shooter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan’s son 
Asghar
 (35) around 11 pm. There was no wildlife veterinarian accompanying him, which is mandatory as per norms. After the incident forest officials went into huddle and were shy of confirming the facts to TOI.

The forest department violated its own order upheld by high court and the Supreme Court, which stated that first tranquillizing efforts would be done before eliminating. However, during the last two months operation not a single attempt was made to capture the tigress.

According to sources involved in conducting spot panchnama, a dart was seen pierced on the body of T1 but it looked as if it had not been fired and pinched manually. However, only forensic and ballistic tests can show what exactly happened. Forensic expert from Karnataka Dr Prayag HS demanded a fair post-mortem to expose anomalies in killing of T1.

“Local vets can always succumb to pressure from forest officials. As it is as per the 
National Tiger Conservation Authority
 (NTCA) protocol on capturing problem tigers, darting is prohibited from sunset to sunrise. Even if the forest department claims that attempts to dart T1 were done, these must have been done in the night, which is illegal,” said sources.

An exclusive picture of T1 with TOI shows that the dart has been pinched on tigress thigh body but not fired. It seems 
Asghar Ali
 shot the animal from close range.

Though as per Section 11/1 (A) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, chief wildlife warden may permit any person to hunt any Schedule-I animal becoming dangerous to humans, provided that he is satisfied that such animal cannot be captured, tranquillized or translocated.

“Interestingly, orders to shoot the tigress were issued by PCCF (wildlife) AK Misra in the name of 
Nawab Shafath Ali Khan
, who was not present at the scene when the shooting took place,” said officials.

Earlier, while talking to TOI during a spot visit to Pandharkawda last months, Khan had said he did not want to get into any legal trouble due to pre-condition of tranquilizing. “T1 cannot be darted in night and during the day it is invisible. Hence, I don’t want to enter into legal trouble by violating present order,” he had said.

“T1 has been shot dead in Forest Development Corporation Maharashtra (FDCM) area in compartment number 149 Borati. The spot panchnama was conducted between 1 am and 3 am and the carcass was immediately shifted to Gorewada Rescue Centre at Nagpur for post-mortem. Entire process will be video graphed,” forest officials told TOI.

Both, Misra and APCCF (wildlife) Sunil Limaye, whose headquarters were shifted to Pandharkawda till T1 was either captured or eliminated, were not available for comments. No PCCF representative was present at the spot as per NTCA protocol. Barring Yavatmal CCF PG Rahurkar, no senior officers either visited the site. NTCA has sought a detailed report on T1 killing.

The shooting of T1 sans any tranquilizing efforts has come in for sharp criticism from wildlife lovers. “This is a cold blooded murder. Why efforts were not made to first dart the animal as per court orders. The forest department had promised to make tranqulizing first before killing,” said petitioner Dr Jerryl Banait.

The department spent at least Rs 60-70 lakh on T1 capture operation in the last two months by roping in 200 men, thermal drones, perfume Calvin Klein, sniffer dogs, paraglider and 112 camera traps. But the tigress kept eluding the efforts to capture.

“The clash of egos between shooter Khan, officials and wildlife vets led to complete chaos in the field and the department itself was virtually divided on shooting T1. There was lack of unity and coordination between Khan and wildlife vets which led to this situation,” said Dr Banait.

T1 was blamed for killing 13 villagers but there are four tigers in the problem area. The immediate provocation by PCCF (wildlife) to issue shoot orders for T1 was killing of three villagers in August. The whereabouts of two cubs of T1 are unknown and as of now there is no concrete plan with the department to capture them.

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/nagpur/finally-t1-shot-dead-sans-any-tranqullizing-efforts/amp_articleshow/66483646.cms