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this giving a view into the brains of "extreme animal rightactivists" https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asi...e-hunt-10894274 "Asia Man-eating tiger shot dead in India after massive hunt 03 Nov 2018 06:37PM MUMBAI: A man-eating tiger that claimed more than a dozen victims in two years has been shot dead in India, sparking controversy over the legality of its killing. One of India's most high-profile tiger hunts in decades ended Friday (Nov 2) night when the mother of two 10-month old cubs - known to hunters as T1 but Avni to wildlife lovers - was shot dead in the jungles of Maharashtra state. A team of more than 150 people had spent months searching for T1, using a paraglider and dozens of infrared cameras while sharpshooters had ridden on the backs of elephants. However disputes quickly erupted after the killing as media reports said the tiger was shot in Yavatmal forest with no attempt to tranquilize her. India's Supreme Court had issued a hunting order for T1 - blamed for 13 deaths since June 2016 - in September, ruling that she could be killed if tranquilizers failed. Several appeals were made against the death sentence. The tiger was killed at night, when tranquilizers are not allowed to be used, according to the Times of India and other media outlets. T1 is said to have been shot dead by Ashgar Ali Khan, son of India's most famous hunter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan, who was meant to be leading the hunt but was not present Friday night. Forestry officials and the hunter did not answer calls to give details of the hunt. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests AK Mishra told The Indian Express newspaper that a forest staffer had managed to dart the tiger with a tranquilizer at around 11.00pm. "But she charged at the team, forcing Ashgar to shoot in self-defence," he said. "The tigress lay dead in a single shot." SELF-DEFENCE OR 'MURDER'? However Mishra's account was contradicted by other reports, while many groups condemned the way the killing was conducted. The Times of India quoted sources involved in the hunt as saying it looked as though a tranquilizer dart had been put into the tiger's corpse after the killing. The sources said the dart had not been fired. Forestry officials acknowledged to Indian media that no vet was present during the hunt, as required by the Supreme Court order. Jerryl Banait, a vet and activist in Karnataka state who had launched appeals against the order, described the shooting as "cold-blooded murder". "Avni was killed illegally satisfying a hunter's lust for blood," said the Indian branch of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) group. It said India's Wildlife Protection Act and National Tiger Conservation Authority rules had been flouted, calling for the matter to be "investigated and treated as a wildlife crime". The tiger's body has been taken to a zoo in the city of Nagpur for a post-mortem. Despite the disputed circumstances, villages around the town of Pandharkawda celebrated the death with relief. T1 claimed her first victim, a woman whose body was found in a cotton field, in June 2016. Since then most of the dead were male herders. India has launched a major campaign to boost tiger numbers. At the last tiger census in 2014 the number had risen to more than 2,200 from a low of less than 1,500. But urban spread as the population of 1.25 billion grows has increasingly eaten into the territory of wild animals. Endangered elephants and tigers kill on average one person a day, according to government figures. so you have a man eating tiger and they call it murder when the beast became part of the game! I would asking myself what the "the mother of two 10-month old cubs" teach her darlings before. the hunter have a good reputation to do the job also with tranquillise. here is another case from the last year: "Tiger hunter turns tiger rescuer July 12, 2017 ‘Man-eater’ successfully tranquillised Reputed hunter from the city, ‘Nawab’ Shafat Ali Khan, who used to be frequently embroiled in controversies by shooting down ‘man-eating’ tigers, has, for a change, successfully tranquillised female tiger in Maharashtra that had reportedly turned man-eater. The three-year-old tigress was captured alive on Monday evening from the outlying territory of Tadoba National Park, near Halda village, Mr. Khan informed over phone. The tigress, named C-1 by the Forest Department officials, was from the spill-over population of 40 adult tigers and 19 cubs that struggled for survival in the Brahmapuri Division outside the national park, thickly populated with human habitations and sparsely with prey base. The young feline had killed two humans and injured four, besides lifting away countless cattle and goats between April and June. After it had reportedly killed a man on June 21 and partially ate his body, villagers became furious leading to her being declared a man-eater, and ordered to be shot down. Attempts by veterinarians to tranquillise the big cat turned futile, and Mr. Khan was invited by the Maharashtra Government to hunt her down. “I had noticed that the tigress displayed abnormal behaviour. She would kill the cattle during daytime, and when resisted, attack the villagers,” Mr. Khan recalled. However, he decided to capture her alive, after noticing from camera traps that she was beautiful and young. His team, including son Asghar, faced tough opposition from the villagers who wanted her shot down. “They even attacked us once, seeing the tranquilliser guns in our hands. We had to sit with them, and make them understand our efforts,” he said. The cattle kills became very frequent, but almost always, the tigress abandoned her kills scared by the attempts to chase her away. “After a futile attempt at Padmapur village on July 4, she disappeared up to July 9, only to resurface near Halda village where she was conceived by her mother. Our task became very difficult as her mother and two sisters roamed in the five square kilometre vicinity,” Mr. Khan said. Painstakingly, the stripes on the tigress’ body were memorised, and her presence was ascertained further through her odd tendencies of abandoning her kills. “Monday afternoon, she killed a cow and ate five kilograms of meat. We set up a ‘machan’, tied the carcass with ropes and awaited her arrival. At 5.30 p.m., she came tearing out, lifted the carcass snapping the ropes, and almost galloped away, but not before I took a very fast shot. The dart went in her neck, and she fled dropping her kill,” Mr. Khan explained. She was noticed 200 meters away, captured and brought back to the Forest Department’s camp at Ekara village. “I visited the tigress on Tuesday morning. She was in healthy condition,” Mr. Khan informed. source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Swathi Vadlamudi / Hyderabad – July 12th, 2017" https://www.mpositive.in/tag/asghar-ali-khan/ and how this started https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09...ling-13-people/ "Top Indian tiger hunter called in to find beast thought to have killed 13 India's tigers are strictly protected by conservation laws, but India's growing population and the loss of habitat means the cats are increasingly in competition with people Seventy per cent of the world's 4,000 remaining tigers live in India Ben Farmer, Islamabad 14 September 2018 • 4:59pm India's most celebrated hunter has been called in for a controversial mission to shoot a man-eating tigress blamed for killing 13 people. Nawab Shafath Ali Khan has begun his hunt after India's highest court dismissed objections from conservation groups and authorised the killing of the four-year-old cat and her two cubs. The hunter, scion of an aristocratic family, has started combing the jungles of Maharashtra after the tigress known as T1 terrorised villages in recent months. Wildlife activists had unsuccessfully sought to block any court order allowing the killing of the cat, arguing there was no definitive proof the tigress was responsible for the deaths. They have also tried to block the involvement of Mr Khan, who is the go-to marksman for Indian officials troubled by man-eating tigers, rogue elephants or destructive wild boar. Mr Khan is stalking the tiger with elephants because vehicles are too loud and has said he will only shoot to kill as a last resort, instead using a tranquiliser gun if possible. The hunt authorisation calls for Mr Khan to attempt to capture the tigress alive, but to kill it if necessary. Activists fear Mr Khan, who is renowned for killing hundreds of animals, will only make a token effort to take the cat alive. He has said he is convinced the tigress is guilty and is killing for survival because of a lack of other prey. “The tigress has two cubs aged 10 months which are also eating human flesh,” he told the Times of India. “The killing of humans is easy prey, as there is no natural prey such as spotted deer and sambar and wild boar here. So the tigress is killing humans for survival.” The tigress is accused of killing 13 people around Pandharkawada over the last two years, with the spree accelerating to claim three lives in August alone. Victims have been found part-eaten, with limbs torn off and teeth marks left on what remained. Indian officials say DNA tests, camera traps and footprints all point to the killings having been carried out by a single tigress. India's tigers are strictly protected by conservation laws, but India's growing population and the loss of habitat means the cats are increasingly in competition with people. The success of protection laws has also seen the number of cats begin to grow again in recent years after plummeting for decades. India is home to around 70 per cent of the world's 4,000 tigers. Nawab Shafath Ali Khan has begun his hunt after India's highest court dismissed objections from conservation groups and authorised the killing of the four-year-old cat and her two cubs Mr Khan is the private hunter usually called on when people and India's large wildlife clash. Born into a Hyderabad family descended from royalty, he grew up enchanted by the hunting tales of his grandfather who was a renowned Raj-era elephant hunter. He first held a gun when he was four and soon became an able tracker and accomplished shot. At the age of only 19 he was recommended by a family friend when officials needed someone to shoot a rogue elephant who had trampled 12 to death. His fame quickly grew and officials from around India began calling for his help. |