There was a huge consternation among environmental conservationists as Indian locals killed approximately 5000 animals to commemorate the festival of the new moon, or more locally known as Jyeshtha Amavasya. Last July 3-6, the locals of West Bengali, India killed many animals in the forest of Midnapore. Among these animals, such as species of reptiles and fowls, are protected by the Indian Law.
Local conservationists tried to stop the locals from killing these animals, but their efforts were largely futile as they received very little help from the police force who were supposed to help them. Some hunters even threatened the conservationists, knowing fully well that they are backed by the local armed forces so they can do nothing about the atrocity of the situation (Dasgupta, 2016).
A picture of the animals being slaughtered for the festival (Chatterjee, Chakraboty, & Banerjee, 2016).
This situation is a clear example of how societal cultures can adversely affect the immediate environment of the society in question. The mass-scale hunting during the event can be traced back to the olden days, where hunting was the primary means of living among the inhabitants. However, hunting of such game is not sustainable nowadays—large numbers of them are killed for mere commercial purposes, which could drastically upset the balance of nature and force some animals to become extinct.
In order for such events to be avoided in the future, environmentalists suggest a wider dissemination of information about when, where, and what to hunt. In addition, they also want the railways that the hunters use to transport goods to take action as well. For example, if one possesses weapons and prohibited animal products, they should not be allowed on board because the safety of others is at peril.
All in all, we should be aware of the consequences of the actions we take on the environment, regardless if it dictated by our culture or not.
References
Chatterjee, S., Chakraboty, A., Sur, R. & Banerjee, M. (2016). Our team along with Forest Department intercepted a group of about 15 hunters near Khirai railgate in East Medinipur. The group had a plethora of animal carcasses in their bags [image]. Retrieved from http://www.conservationindia.org/wp-content/files_mf/3.-many-animals.jpg
Dasgupta, S. (2016). 5,000 wild animals killed in West Bengal, India on World Environment Day. Mongabay News. Retrieved from https://news.mongabay.com/2016/07/5000-wild-animals-killed-in-west-bengal-india-on-world-environment-day/
