GUWAHATI: Wildlife activists and animal lovers from across Assam converged here on Sunday afternoon to join a global campaign against the killing of Avni, a tigress, in Maharashtra recently and demanding a probe into the incident and safety of her two cubs.
A peace march was taken out by representatives of NGOs, environmentalists and nature lovers from Dighalipukhuri with activists displaying placards, forming a human chain and lighting candles as part of the four-hour programme.
Activists taking part in the campaign held across 25 cities in India and 10 cities internationally demanded a fair probe by an independent panel into the circumstances leading to the killing of the tigress, starting from the time evidence was mounted to declare Avni a man eater, which inhabited the forests of Ralegaon in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra.
In a statement issued here, the organizers of the peace march said that assistance would be sought from expert teams from other states like Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka who have shown better skills and experience in similar tasks.
The participants of the campaign also called for immediate removal of the minister for environment and forests, Sudhir Mungantiwar.
The protesters say that the killing of Avni was in full violation of an order by the Supreme Court to first secure her 11-month old cubs before attempting to tranquilise her for rehabilitation.
“The blatant violation, killing by a private contracted hunter and a staged attempt to cover the fact that tranquilisation was not even attempted, have all angered animal lovers and activists,” the statement said.
Globally, the campaign was organised in Toronto, New York, San Jose, Edmonton, Durban, Perth, Manchester and Belgium.
The global population of tigers has declined substantially. According to the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), tigers are endangered animals.
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