The Bishnoi community has objected against the release of chitals and deer into the Kuno National Park, aiming for the Namibian cheetahs to feed on them. The Bishnois have started protesting outside the District Collectorate of Haryana’s Fatehabad. Devendra Budiya, President of the All India Bishnoi Mahasabha, has written a letter to PM Modi regarding the matter.
The letter, written on Monday, mentions that in order to feed the cheetahs, 181 chitals have been sent to Sheopur from the Rajgarh forest, which has hurt the Bishnoi community. It further states that chitals are on the verge of extinction in Rajasthan and they should be protected, and that there is no proof that cheetahs are important and chitals are not. Therefore, this senseless decision of sending chitals for the spotted big cats should be reconsidered.
MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who had recently left the Congress to join the BJP, has demanded a ban on chitals and deer being made a bait. Dr. Laurie Marker, Founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) has said that the cheetahs brought to India may have to be monitored for whole of their lives, and it will take many years for their population to increase in the country.
The Bishnoi community, which is known to be aggressively protective of the wildlife, revers chitals, and is also planning to discuss this issue at a national-level seminar, which is to be attended by the Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhankar, taking place in a village of Bikaner on September 25th and 26th.
