A look back at 3 inspiring days we spent at Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) Conservation Partner’s Meeting (CPM) in New Delhi organised alongside the Global Wildlife Fair this year.

Representing HEAL, our Secretary Suvrajyoti Chatterjee and Project Coordinator Vasudha Mishra shared key learnings from our Rapid Action Projects (RAPs) focused on anti-hunting initiatives and migratory bird conservation.

Over the last 8 years, HEAL has worked relentlessly to curb illegal hunting festivals in southern Bengal — gatherings that once saw thousands take part in mass wildlife hunts. Our public interest litigations led the Calcutta High Court to form district wise Humane Committees to curb hunting and strengthened multi-agency coordination against wildlife crime — driving a message of zero tolerance for hunting. WTI has been actively supporting HEAL’s on ground efforts to create awareness against mass slaughter of wildlife during hunt fests and gather hunting related data to aid enforcement actions.

HEAL, with support from WTI, also addressed the alarming poaching of migratory birds in eastern India, where tens of thousands were once trapped and sold for consumption. Working with authorities and communities — we destroyed 87 km of trapping nets, rescued over 2,000 birds, aided 17 arrests, and fostered stronger local and official action for wildlife protection.

We were honoured to present our work from West Bengal, and thrilled that our on-ground impact was recognised by peers and fellow changemakers.

At the Global Wildlife Fair, our exhibition stall with Dokra animal figurines and Chilika red rice became crowd favourites!

Events like these reaffirm the strength of collaboration and shared purpose in conservation.