Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey on Friday alleged that the translocation of the tiger that was captured in Bhopal on Friday to the Panna tiger reserve, where a tigress was recently found to be infected with canine distemper virus (CDV), was in violation of guidelines.
Addressing a press conference, Dubey revealed that he received the report on tigers suffering from CDV at Panna via the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
He said the way the state wildlife department hurriedly shifted the tiger that had been tranquilised and injured after falling from the roof was a clear violation of the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for shifting of wild cats. The tiger was transported from Bhopal at 7 pm on Thursday and reached Panna on Friday morning, he added.
“Panna tiger reserve is around 300 km from Bhopal. What was the hurry to overnight shift a tiger that was under stress through the day, had suffered a fall and was under sedation? The tiger reached Panna around 6 am on Friday and is still not keeping well. And surprisingly, the state wildlife department sent this tiger to a tiger reserve about which it recently got a report that a tigress had died in September due to canine distemper virus. I am going to approach the high court on Monday over this issue,” he said, adding that the wildlife department has a rescue centre at Van Vihar national park, which also houses man-eaters.
Dubey said, according to the report of the National Referral Centre on Wildlife Healthcare, Bareili, the tigress that died in Panna in September had canine distemper virus in her brain tissue.
{{/usCountry}}Dubey said, according to the report of the National Referral Centre on Wildlife Healthcare, Bareili, the tigress that died in Panna in September had canine distemper virus in her brain tissue.
{{/usCountry}}“State wildlife department got its report on August 28 and despite this, they have sent the tiger to Panna, where it too can catch the infection.” he contended.