Thread by @debadityo

Why the Uttar Pradesh govt might have ignored Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 by capturing the Sarus Crane, translocating & now put it in captivity in Kanpur Zoo. A thread. (1/n)
#SarusCrane #BirdsOfTwitter @UPGovt @UpforestUp

The WPA allows capturing/ hunting a Sch I animal under s11 only when CWLW is satisfied that the animal is dangerous to human life or disabled or diseased beyond recovery.. that too in written order citing reasons. (2/n)

S12 allows grant of permission to capture wild animals for special purposes which includes education, sci. research, etc. Translocation to alternative habitat is allowed... All this requires written statement of reasons from CWLW.. (3/n)

Sarus Crane is not a forest dwelling bird. It is infact more common in agricultural wetland mosaic which includes cultivated land, paddy fields etc. More info available here- (4/n) wii.gov.in/nmcg/priority-…

Translocating the Sarus from its natural habitat (in Amethi), to a different landscape (Rae Bareli) required clear establishment of threat from the animal or to the animal. In this case it is not clearly established (atleast from the news I read/ saw till date). (5/n)

Further, the animal is now reportedly kept in Kanpur zoo, which is clearly not a conservation approach. Sarus are social birds & have deep cultural association with locals in India. (6/n)
Photo & source-
aninews.in/news/national/…

Human-Wildlife co-existence is foundation of Indian culture. In this beautiful video see how Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi is interacting with our national bird Pea fowl, which has same protection as Sarus. Such element of caring is needed. (7/n)

If the State was too concerned, the Forest Department could've made arrangements for safety of the Sarus in its natural habitat. Translocating it from its natural habitat, & landing it in cage (Zoo) is simply unacceptable, perhaps not what WPA intends to. (8/n)

I humbly request @myogiadityanath to kindly intervene & release back the Sarus to its original habitat & make arrangements for its safety, & coordinate with the village council for better management of the habitat & to ensure long term conservation of its State bird. 🙏🙏 (9/n)

The photo in the first tweet is from Dhanauri village in Noida, Delhi NCR. This agricultural village is the extreme west habitat of Sarus & threatened from urbanisation. Support of locals are crucial for conservation & protection of the species which naturally prefers such… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…