The BBC has been severely criticised by the Environment Ministry for its "grossly erroneous" reporting in a documentary that brings to light the Centre's "ruthless anti-poaching strategy" for the Kaziranga tiger reserve in Assam. The Ministry has also recommended that the channel's South Asia correspondent Justin Rowlatt be blacklisted.
'Killing For Conservation' is a film made by the BBC that explores the "dark secrets" of the Kaziranga tiger reserve and analyses if the reserve's war against poaching has gone too far, while claiming that the guards of the tiger reserve or "rangers" have been instructed "to shoot and kill," powers that are "normally only conferred on armed forces policing civil unrest."
According to the BBC film, forest rangers killed more people than poachers killed rhinos. At least 23 people were killed in comparison to 17 rhinos in 2015. Rowlatt said that at least 50 people were shot dead since 2014, while only two were prosecuted for poaching — one in 2014 and another in 2016.
Kaziranga is home to more than 2,400 rhinos, two-thirds of the entire rhino population in the world as compared to just a handful of them when the park was set up a century ago.
Notice Issued by the NTCA:
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), on Tuesday, issued a notice against Rowlatt and the BBC for not submitting the film, which was aired last Saturday, to the Ministries of Environment and External Affairs for the mandatory preview to "remove any deviations, so as to achieve a balanced and accurate exposition of the theme." According to the ministry, the documentary "shall provide a fillip to wildlife offences, especially poaching."
The NTCA, under Section 38 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, has asked Rowlatt and the channel's bureau in south Asia to show cause within seven days as to why the government should not revoke their filming permissions, the Indian Express reported. It has also issued a warning to BBC of cancelling all future permissions if the film is not removed from online portals. The authorities have also asked the Indian High Commission in the UK to take action.
"Story on challenges and expertise of India's conservation drive. We would like to report on and feature what we consider the most exciting aspect of conservation in India — the elite rangers of Kaziranga as they go on night patrol and show our viewers the efforts being taken to protect wildlife in India," the NTCA notice said, claiming that BBC's film had a different storyline when they sought filming permissions.
The notice added that "the producer has used spasmodic events as an umbrella to judge a gamut of conservation efforts that go into safeguarding our wildlife heritage, with scant understanding of the laws in place. The immunity provided to forest officials under Section 197 of the CrPC has been construed as a 'Shoot to Kill' policy."
Claims by the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve director:
Kaziranga Tiger Reserve Director Satyendra Singh told Rowlatt that "shoot-on-sight" does not accurately point out how the forest rangers have been instructed to deal with poachers: "First we warn them - who are you? But if they resort to firing we have to kill them. First we try to arrest them, so that we get the information, what are the linkages, who are others in the gang?"
Singh added that at least 50 poachers have been killed in three years and that around 300 local villagers have been lured into the poaching business. Rowlatt reports that the number of alleged poachers shot dead increased from five to 22 from 2013-2014.
Singh told the Indian Express that the channel had "misrepresented facts and selectively over-dramatised interviews and old footage."
"There is no shoot-on-sight policy, only legal immunity for poor forest guards who do a very difficult job. They (BBC) have misrepresented facts and selectively over-dramatised interviews and old footage. For example, I spoke for half an hour and they selectively used about a minute. They had a different agenda fuelled by certain foreign NGOs and local elements opposed to conservation. We are exploring all options including legal steps."
BBC's Response:
A BBC spokesman told the Indian Express:
"This film makes clear the successes achieved by India's conservation policies in preserving the country's most iconic wildlife. However, the film also expressly set out to explore the challenges of India's conservation drive and during production it became clear that one of those challenges was the impact on communities living next to the park. Our audiences expect us to bring them the full picture, while adhering to our editorial standards and this piece is no different. The issues raised in the film are part of an important international debate on the appropriate way to combat poaching. We did approach the relevant government authorities to make sure their position was fully reflected but they declined to take part."
The documentary: 'Killing For Conservation'
"The instruction is whenever you see the poachers or hunters, we should use our guns and hunt them," Avdesh told BBC's Rowlatt without hesitation. When asked whether he shot them, Avdesh replied: "Yah, yah. Fully ordered to shoot them. Whenever you see the poachers or any people during night-time we are ordered to shoot them." He added that he has shot at several people in his four years as a guard at Kaziranga, but has never claimed a life.
The film also brought to light cases of innocent villagers, mostly tribal people, being caught in the conflict. Several villagers have been shot dead in Kaziranga. "Just one park guard has been killed by poachers in the past 20 years compared with 106 people shot dead by guards over the same period," it highlighted.
A young boy named Goanburah Kealing, resident of a village bordering the tiger reserve, went looking for a couple of family cows who had strayed into the park in December 2013. He was shot dead by the Kaziranga authorities who claimed that they shot him inside the reserve when he did not respond to a warning. Kealing had severe learning difficulties, his father told BBC's Rowlatt.
Another incident is of a seven-year-old boy Akash Orang who was shot, while on his way home along the main track through the village, which borders the park. The gunshot tore most of his calf muscle on the right leg. He was in hospital for five months and also underwent several surgeries. Orang still can barely walk despite the surgeries.
