@Newboomer ,
@WAB &
@mark-hunter
Thank you very much for bringing this thread to my attention . The poacher in question , was nicknamed “ Tiger Habib “ . He indiscriminately killed 70 Royal Bengal tigers ( male , female and cub ) by employing folidol . He used to work with ( or rather for ) Indian poachers , who used to infiltrate our territory through the Indian part of the Sundarbans . I need not belabor how hefty a sum is fetched on the black market by the hide of a Royal Bengal tiger . The teeth and bones are sold to the Chinese black market ( many Chinese people consider Royal Bengal tiger bones to be an aphrodisiac ) .
Now , he will not be getting out of prison for a very long time . I personally believe that the only way to make sure that the population of Royal Bengal tigers can be preserved and increased , is by legalizing trophy hunting for Royal Bengal tigers . The harsh ( ? ) reality of life is that the best way to preserve a species , is is by placing monetary value upon the animal . By permitting a limited number of client hunters to pay a substantial sum in order to legally hunt a few Royal Bengal tigers per year , the fee could be used to fund anti poaching patrols and even keep the habitats of Royal Bengal tigers perfectly maintained . Only Royal Bengal tigers of advanced age should be targeted , because these are are the most likely ( virtually guaranteed ) to become marauders ( when Royal Bengal tigers become old , their claws and fangs fall out ; leaving them unable to catch their natural prey and this is when the bulk of Royal Bengal tigers become marauders after they find human beings easier to hunt ) . Unfortunately , this dream can only become a reality when Bangladesh begins to distance itself from India and it’s influence ( hopefully , this shall happen soon judging by the recent public outrage which most Bengali locals have begun to feel about India ) . Why is this so ? I believe that everybody knows how Indians feel about hunting , and they love imposing their illiterate opinions on whomever they are able to . It is a fortunate miracle that we are at least able to legally hunt waterfowl , upland birds , Axis deer , barking deer and Bengal bush boar ( with police permission ) . Despite India’s repeated attempts to get those banned in our country , as well . I thank the stars for that . I just wish that locals saw Royal Bengal tigers as commodes , just like we see birds or deer or Bengal bush boar .
Without placing a monetary value on these animals , people will have no incentive to protect them . The habitats of Royal Bengal tigers will be razed , in order to build farms and factories ( among other urban monstrosities ) . As the Royal Bengal tiger is driven out of his natural habitat , he will be forced to became a livestock killer . This brings him into conflict with locals , who will try to kill him or ward him off . Eventually , the Royal Bengal tiger will kill a human being in self defense and take a few bites from the fresh of the carcass . And the Royal Bengal tiger will realize that he prefers human flesh to that of Axis deer or Bengal bush boar . Thus , a marauding Royal Bengal tiger is unnecessarily born . As I have stated in several of my writings ( including my book “ Jokhon Shikari Chilam “ ) , a marauding Royal Bengal tiger is willing to swim for several miles just so that he can find the nearest human settlement . The choices then , are down to two : Either the Royal Bengal tiger gets killed or people get killed .
We also need stronger leadership . Between 1972 and 1996 , MD Golam Habib was the Divisional Forest Officer of the Sundarban Forest Department . He was extremely competent in his post . He personally shot and killed three marauding Royal Bengal tigers , himself . All of these were old animals , which became marauders for no reason related to man . During his posting , human-wildlife conflict was almost ZERO . We also had Forest Rangers who were genuinely passionate about wildlife such as the late Pachabdi Gazi and his brother , the now retired Shafiq Gazi . But today , Forest Department Officers are nowhere as competent . They do not actually care about wildlife or sustainable hunting or conservation . They do their job , simply because they are being paid to .
Well , that is how I feel about this subject .
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