Hunting Surveys in West Medinipur

February 2020 onwards

As part of a collaborative project with Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), HEAL is in the process of conducting surveys for gathering information on the dates of hunting festivals in several tribal dominated blocks of West Medinipur, where most of the hunting takes place. With the information collected during these surveys we will create detailed hunting calendar and maps capturing the exact hunt locations and the corresponding dates. This information is being shared with authorities to facilitate preemptive measures to prevent hunting festivals and ensure implementation of High Court’s order prohibiting ritual hunting of wildlife in South Bengal.

Over the past two years, HEAL had filed two public interest litigations against ritual hunting in Bengal. Pursuant to these PILs Calcutta High Court placed an embargo on killing of wild animals during hunting festivals. HEAL has been monitoring hunt locations and working closely with authorities to prevent hunting and ensure compliance with the Court’s orders. A detailed  hunting calendar and map capturing the exact hunt location is essential  to take pre-emptive measures to prevent these hunting festivals.

These surveys were conducted between November 2019-February 2020, and then starting again after Covid -19 lockdown in July 2020.

Many thanks to Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) for their generous support