Today, the Supreme Court sought response from the Centre on the sequent deaths of cheetahs at the Kuno National Park.
During the hearing today, the Supreme Court said that ‘40% of deaths occurring within a year does not reflect a good picture’.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai, JB Paridwala and Prashant Kumar Mishra lamented that the number of cheetah deaths in such a short span painted a worrying picture of the state of affairs.
Earlier, a steering committee meeting was held after the deaths of two cheetahs – Tejas and Suraj – where it was decided to transfer the Madhya Pradesh chief wildlife warden and head of the cheetah project at the national park Jasbir Singh Chauhan.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati assured the bench that the Central government was taking all efforts for the prestigious cheetah translocation project. She added that 50 percent of deaths in translocation projects was a given.
Justice Pardiwala, in turn, questioned why the deaths were occurring.
"So what is the issue? They are not suited to our climate? They are shown as having had kidney or respiratory issues," he observed.
The ASG replied that there were several considerations, and conceded that more can and needs to be done. Suggestions on this aspect are welcome, she said.
ASG Bhati, who hails from Rajasthan, also pointed out that when similar projects were implemented in Rajasthan, deaths of tigers occurred within enclosures.
The government has agreed to file its response. The matter will now be heard on August 1.
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