Bangladesh to amend Wildlife Preservation Act

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Bangladesh tiger poachers to face life in prison

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(AFP) – 11 May 2010,

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5juZXhBHD5i2ZVluxloiITNWV3MkA

 

DHAKA — Poachers in Bangladesh could soon face life in prison under legal

reforms aimed at protecting wildlife, including the critically endangered

Bengal tiger, an official said Monday.

 

Under the country's existing law, which dates from 1974, the maximum penalty

for a wildlife poacher or smuggler is a 2,000 taka (30 dollar) fine and a

two-year prison sentence.

 

The laws are " outdated and too lenient " to preserve the country's rapidly

shrinking big game populations, including the Bengal tiger, the government's

top conservation official told AFP.

 

" We are now amending the law to fight poachers who have become increasingly

sophisticated and are now often armed. They must be stopped, " Tapan Kumar

Dey said.

 

Dey said the government has already formulated the new *Bangladesh Wildlife

Preservation Act,* under which a poacher could be sentenced to a maximum

life term and fined up to 300,000 taka.

 

Bangladesh's cabinet is expected to approve the law later this month and

then send it to parliament for final approval, he added.

 

The new law -- a summary of which has been seen by AFP -- also boosts

protection of ancient forests.

 

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) more

than 13 species have become extinct in Bangladesh over the past 40 years,

and over 100 species are now considered endangered or critically endangered.

 

The country's human population has tripled during the same period, while

forest cover has shrunk to just 10 percent of land mass, resulting in more

frequent clashes between people and animals, experts say.

 

Bengal tigers, which used be found all across the country five decades ago,

are now confined to the Sunderbans, the world's largest mangrove forest.

 

Experts say only 200 big cats now live in the forest, down from 440 in 2004

-- thanks largely to poaching by smugglers and mob beatings by villagers who

are traditionally hostile to tigers.