Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

1. On March 9, Mohammad Arif, a 35-year-old man from Mandkha, Uttar Pradesh, was booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, for “illegally” keeping and nursing an injured Sarus crane (Grus Antigone) he found in his village.
2. The Sarus crane is usually found in wetlands and is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh. Standing at 152-156 centimetres, it is the world’s tallest flying bird.

Wildlife Protection Act

• The Wildlife Protection Act came into force on September 9, 1972
• The act aims to “provide for the protection” of wild animals, birds and plants to ensure the “ecological and environmental security of the country.”
• It aims to conserve protected species in two main ways: firstly, by prohibiting their hunting and secondly by protecting their habitat through the creation and regulation of sanctuaries, national parks, reserves, etc.
• The Act prohibits capturing or hunting any species of animals listed under Schedules I-IV

Hunting under the Act

What Are The Schedules Listed In The Act?

The Act protects wild and captive animals or birds which belong to a species listed under Schedules I-IV.

 Schedule I & Schedule II – “Strictly Protected Species”

• No wild or captive animal or any products derived from them, like their fur, skin, tusks, etc., can be possessed without an ownership certificate
• Animals such as the Black Buck, Black-Necked Crane, Hooded Crane, Siberian White Crane, Wild Yak, and the Andaman Wild Pig fall under Schedule I.
• Whereas, the common Langur, chameleon, and King Cobra fall under Schedule II.

Schedule III & Schedule IV- Protected but the penalties are lower

• Schedule III includes Chital, wild pigs, Hyaena, and the Nilgai.
• The Sarus crane falls under Schedule IV of the Act.
• Species mentioned under Schedules III and IV of the Wildlife carries prohibition on dealings in trophy and animal articles without a license, purchase of animals by a licensee, and restriction on transportation of wildlife.

Penalties

• Any person who contravenes any provision of the Act shall be punished with up to three years imprisonment or fine up to Rs. 25,000 rupees or both.
• However, according to the latest amendment to the 1972 Act enacted on August 2, 2022, which is yet to come into force, the fine was increased to one lakh rupees.

If the offence relates to animals under the first two Schedules, imprisonment can be between three to seven years, with or without a fine of Rs 10,000, which will increase to Rs. 25,000 after the 2022 Amendment.

What Are The Powers Of The State Government?

• It was in 1976, with the advent of the 42nd Amendment Act, that the subject of “Forests and Protection of Wild Animals and Birds” was transferred from State to Concurrent List.
• However, state governments still enjoy a host of powers under the WPA, 1972.
• The State government can appoint a Chief Wildlife Warden alongside wildlife wardens, honorary wildlife wardens, and other officers and employees.
• The state can constitute a State Board for Wild Life, consisting of the Chief Minister as chairperson, the Minister in charge of Forests and Wildlife as the vice chairperson, and at least three members of the State legislature, among others.
• State governments can also add or delete any entry to or from any Schedule or transfer any entry from one part of a Schedule to another, provided that any such alteration made by the State Government is done with the previous consent of the Centre
• State governments can notify certain rules, including the conditions subject to which any license or permit may be granted or under which the officers will be authorised to file cases in court.

2022 Amendment

Editorial

An Uttar Pradesh man who became popular on social media for rescuing a sarus crane and taking care of it for 13 months has been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, The Indian Express reported. Thirty-five-year-old Mohammad Arif found the injured crane in his village, Mandkha of Amethi district, in February last year and brought it home. In videos shared on social media, the crane and Arif are seen sharing a bond. The sarus is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, which prohibits individuals from keeping or feeding it.

“Within weeks, the bird started recovering, and soon it started flying too. It stayed in the courtyard outside the house. But it never returned to the wild for good,” Arif told The Indian Express. “It would stay in the jungle when it wanted. Then, in the evenings it would come to my house and eat with me. I never held it captive.” On Tuesday, according to the newspaper, officials went to Arif’s house and said the bird could no longer stay with him. They had received orders from the Wildlife Department to confiscate it. Arif was booked under the Wildlife Protection Act on March 9. He has been asked to record his statement on April 2 at 11 am.

“I don’t know about wildlife laws. I’m a farmer. But if I had caged it, tied it up and hadn’t allowed it to go anywhere, then I could understand the forest department would want to take it away,” Arif told the BBC. “But you saw that it flew around and came and went as it pleased. Did you ever see that I was constricting its movements?” In a press conference on Wednesday, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav criticised the UP government’s action. “The friendship and care he has provided to the crane resulted in a rare form of bond between the two,” he said. “The change in the bird’s behaviour is a subject of study. But saras was confiscated from Arif because I went to meet him. I had gone to congratulate him and that resulted in their separation. Is this democracy?”

Earlier, Yadav had visited the bird and Arif, and even taken photos with the too. After being taken from Arif, the bird was first placed in the Raebareli sanctuary. It “disappeared” from there and was found by a villager half a kilometre away, being chased by dogs, The Indian Express reported. It was then shifted to the Kanpur zoo. “It is being shifted to the Kanpur zoo as it had changed its habits after staying near humans for more than a year,” Manoj Sonkar, Lucknow Conservator (Endangered Species) told the newspaper.

Source: The Wire

In February, last year, when Mohammad Arif applied mustard oil paste and tied a splint to the leg of an injured Sarus Crane, little did he know that the bird would become family. There’s no way the farmer could have also imagined, back then, that a year later he would be torn away from the bird (or the bird from him) and booked under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act. All for attempting to protect wildlife, and unwittingly winning its trust? The bird was not holed in, not shackled, not shut away. It never flew away despite being kept in the open, media reports have noted. But now, the Sarus Crane has been placed in a zoo, after it struggled to survive in the wild, and it is reportedly refusing to eat. Arif suggests that the bird should be offered dal, chawal and cooked food, and shown his photograph.