Editorial Simplified – Not Above The Law

NOT ABOVE THE LAW

Why has this issue cropped up ?

The stiff sentence of five years in jail awarded to actor Salman Khan for hunting blackbuck in Rajasthan’s Kankani village in 1998 should send out the message that stardom does not confer impunity.

The specialty of this case

  • Unlike the average wildlife poaching case, where State forest departments struggle to gather credible evidence, the prosecution in the black-buck case has been vigorously supported by the local Bishnoi community.
  • What sets the case apart from so many other episodes of poaching and animal trapping in India’s forests is its naked celebration of blood-sport.

Way forward

  • The Wildlife (Protection) Act, the landmark law from 1972 that shields the diversity of India’s endangered animals mainly in 4% of its land area designated as protected, struggles to be effective and conviction rates are low. This must change.
  • Besides restraining ‘VIP’ poachers, forest guards must combat organised hunting gangs that employ traps and snares for a thriving trade in animals, body parts and trophies.
  • Forest departments must see the need for greater vigilance in such territories, which they can exercise in partnership with local communities.

Conclusion

The court makes the important observation that personalities who are capable of influencing the behaviour of others must naturally be conscious of what they do. It is to be hoped that this will convince the high and mighty that blood sports are grotesquely incongruous in the present day when environmental concerns rule supreme and engaging in them invites deterrent action.

Relevance : GS 3

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