384 tigers killed in India in last 10 years, reveals RTI

In the past decade, 384 tigers are reportedly killed by poachers across the country, which counts to over three tigers a month, a reply under the Right to Information revealed. 

Between 2008 and 2018 (till November), 961 persons have also been arrested for allegedly poaching tigers, it said.

The information was given by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau or WCCB in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by Noida-based advocate Ranjan Tomar.

Tomar, an RTI activist, had asked the WCCB the number of tigers killed by poachers in the last decade, and the people arrested and convicted for the same. 

READ| Maharashtra Government Will Conduct An 'in-dept' Probe Into Killing Of Tigress Avni

"As per the data available in records of the Bureau based on the information received from the State Forest and Police authorities the total number of tigers killed by poachers in the last 10 years is 384 and 961 number of poachers arrested in the tiger cases," the reply stated.

However, the bureau said that no information was available with it regarding conviction of the accused in these cases.

"The data makes it clear that successive governments have not been able to check killing of tigers by poachers and therefore there is a need for a special initiative to conserve this wild species or make changes in current laws to make them more effective else," Tomar said.

For conservation of the country's national animal, the government had launched 'Project Tiger' in 1973. As per a 2014 assessment, India has the highest number of tigers in the world at 2,226, according to the website of the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Climate Change. 

READ| WATCH: 'Tigress Avni Was A Problem. Maharashtra Has An Overpopulation Of Tigers', Says Shooter's Father Shafat Ali Khan Stating His Version Of Events

The recent killing case of Tigress Avni raised socio-political arguments around the nature of her death and the flaws in the procedure. The recent killing case of Tigress Avni on November 2 raised socio-political arguments around the nature of her death and the flaws in the procedure. So much so, that an irate Maneka Gandhi accused the Maharashtra government for the "brutal murder" of 6-year-old tigress Avni.

(with inputs from PTI)