Tiger poaching in India

Tiger poaching in India is a serious threat to the survival of tigers in India.[1] About 3,000 wild tigers survive, down from 100,000 at the turn of the 20th century. This decline was largely due to the slaughter of tigers by colonial and Indian elites during the British Raj, which continued following India's independence.[2] Most of the 1,700 remaining specimens are India's Bengal tigers.[3] Project Tiger was initially hailed as a great success until it was discovered that the initial tiger count had been seriously flawed.[4]

Most tiger parts end up in China,[5]where a single skin can sell for Rs. 6.5 million.[6]

The conviction rate for poachers is approximately four percent.[7]

In India, poachers hunt tigers due to their high demand in the illegal wildlife market. The tiger's body parts remain significantly valuable as their skin, bones, claws, teeth, and organs are used for many things. In recent years, the trend of tiger poaching in India has been on the rise. India is home to the majority of the world's wild tiger population, estimated at 65%. With the accelerated movement in tiger poaching in india so rampant, there has been a notable cut in the native tiger population. One of the most infamous tiger poachers in india is a person named Sansar Chand. He was a notable wildlife trafficker/poacher and was based mainly in northern India near Dehli. He was involved in a massive illegal wildlife trade network. Tiger Poaching in india started way earlier than most people thought, starting during the British rule of India (1857-1947) with the elites usually being the ones who would hunt tigers, and eventually it became popular in the early 20th century. In the 1970s, the Indian government realized that the tiger population had significantly decreased, so the government passed many laws to revive the tiger population, such as Project Tiger, the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972, and especially the Wildlife Protection Act which helped save the native tiger population.The Indian government passes important conservation and anti-poaching measures to prevent the poaching of their native tiger species. Most tiger parts end up in China, where a single skin can sell for Rs. 6.5 million. The conviction rate for poachers is approximately four percent.

Causes

In India, poachers hunt tigers due to their high demand in the illegal wildlife market. The tiger's body parts remain significantly valuable as their skin, bones, claws, teeth, and organs are used for many things. In the black market, tigers are in high demand with the prices increasing exponentially as body parts such as their bones are used in many applications. The bones are smuggled almost exclusively to China where they are used in tiger bone wine—a pricey traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) tonic thought to impart the tiger’s great strength and vigor. But almost every part of the tiger is valued in TCM. Most of the skins end up in China, too, used for high-end luxury décor [7]. Tigers are walking gold, worth a fortune on the black market. The demand is huge and prices continue to skyrocket. The cats are being slaughtered across India and their entire range, mostly for their bones and their magnificent pelts[7] . This shows that tiger poaching is conducted as tigers are very valuable as their skin is used for decoration purpose such as for clothes,rugs and for luxury status, we also know that their bones is used for traditional medicine purposes, teeth and claws are used for jewlary and whiskers are used is ritual and religion purposes. essentially tigers are very valuable due to their purposes and the fact that they are endangered in india was makes it a driver for poachers to hunt. Also India is a big hub for tigers: "India has nearly 65% of the world's wild tigers. For poachers, it is the best place to find them, as you can locate them more easily. Between 2000 and 2008 we lost all the tigers in two of our premier tiger reserves Sariska and Panna," he added [8]. Poachers move to india due to their widespread population of diffrent types of tigers especially bengal tiger.

In recent years, the trend of tiger poaching in India has been on the rise.India is home to the majority of the world's wild tiger population as estimated at 65%. with the accelerated movement in the tiger poaching in India so rampant, there has been a notable cut in the native tiger population.In the last two decades, the global wild tiger population has shrunk by half (Morgan et al., 2021). Because of the increased demand for body parts, they are highly vulnerable to poaching (Nowell, 2010; Stoner et al., 2016). The various enforcement agencies seized 2,359 tiger parts globally between 2000 and 2018 (Morgan et al., 2021; Wong & Krishnaswamy, 2019)[9].It has been so alarming that even uncertanity in the data among tiger poaching in india.A global wildlife trade monitoring network's report has voiced concern over India's tiger poaching data management mechanism and said there was "disparity" between occurrences of 'seizure of tigers and tiger parts' in the country and recording of such incidents on official record[10].However in recent times there has been an effort to contain this trend as Noting that India is the only tiger range country to have prioritised the management of data on tiger poaching and seizure, the report titled 'Reduced To Skin And Bones Re-Examined: Full Analysis', has lamented that there has been significant decline in the number of seizure of tigers and tiger parts being reported in India[10]. However we can see an rise of tiger death in many indian states such as Madhya Pradesh's tiger stronghold is under siege, poachers now exploit farm edges, corridors, and live wires. With 36 tiger deaths in 2025 and evidence of organised networks, experts warn the state must act fast to secure its buffers, or risk losing its crown.

Sansar Chand

One of the most infamous tiger poachers in india is person named Sansar Chand. He was a notable wildlife trafficker/poacher and was based mainly in north india near dehli. He was involved in a massive illegal wildlife trade network. Sansar was mostly known for the killing and trading of tiger bones and skins,trafficking tiger to countries throughout asia and was big in selling tiger parts in the international black market. Diaries seized from Sansar Chand's family by the Ragestan Police in 2004 allegedly showed the transaction of 40 tiger skins and 400 leopord skins in a period of just 11 months from October 2003 to September 2004. During Interrogation by the CBI in 2006 Sansar Chand apparently admitted to selling 470 tiger skins and 2130 leopord skins to just 4 clients from Nepal and Tibet[11]. He was eventually arrested multiple times, but the biggest among the all happened in 2005. he was later convicted and received prison sentences for his crime. he later died from cancer in 2014.

Poacher Sansar Chand acknowledged selling 470 tiger skins and 2,130 leopard skins to four clients from Nepal and Tibet.[12] He was termed "the kingpin running the country’s biggest wildlife trade syndicate".[13] He stayed in the trade without arrest for 40 years. He ran his business from Delhi's Sadar Bazar. He was called "Veerappan of the North".[14]

He is blamed for wiping out the entire Sariska Tiger Reserve tiger population in 2005 [15]

In 1991, a group arrested in Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan confessed that they had poached 15 to 18 tigers over two years for him. In January 2005, a raid at Chand's godown in Patel Nagar revealed two tiger skins, 28 leopard skins, 14 tiger canines, three kg of tiger claws, 10 tiger jaws and 60 kg of leopard and tiger paws. In 1988, police had seized 25,800 snake skins from him.[16] Chand's wife Rani and son Akash were also arrested for wildlife trafficking.[17] Chand was arrested in Patel Nagar area New Delhi. Delhi police arrested him after learning that he regularly bought Rajasthan Patrika, a newspaper..

History

Tiger Poaching in india started way earlier than most people though, it started during the british rule of india(1857-1947) with the elites usually being the ones who would hunt tigers, eventually it became popular in the early 20th century. eventually in the 1970s the indian government realizes that the tiger population has significantly decreased so the government passes many laws to revive the tiger population such as Project Tiger and the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972, and especially the Wildlife Protection Act helped save the native tiger population."In 1972, the year the Wild Life (Protection) Act was passed and nine tiger habitats were established, demand for tiger parts declined and interest in tiger protection increased. Tiger populations improved slightly throughout 1972 to 1987. Incidences of tiger crime were rare during this time, prompting the authors to call this era “the golden years for wild tigers in India”. Likelihood of wildlife crime increased in the late 1980s and 1990s due to demand for tiger bones in China. Following a major seizure of 298 kg of tiger bones in August 1993, enforcement efforts increased. The authors’ analysis reflects a high likelihood of wildlife crime detection between 1993 and 1997[18]. However from 1997-2004 there was a sudden rise in the poaching of tigers with groups like the ones under Sansar Chand taking advantage of the system.Wildlife crime detection rates declined in 1997. Organized crime was already underway by December 1999, when three tanned, folded, and signed tiger skins were seized in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh[18]. However the amount of seizure of body parts of tiger were increasing.Demand for tiger skins as a display of wealth in Tibet in the early 2000s led to a massive seizure of 31 tiger skins, along with other animal hides, occurred in Sangsang in the Tibet Autonomous Region in 2003. unsurprisingly, the likelihood of wildlife crime detection in India was lowest between 2001 and 2003[18]. However still today the native tiger population is endangered and therfore there is still a strict consevation program by the indian government. India forms the largest tiger conservation unit in the world and poaching is at its peak even though there are stringent laws and strict enforcement[9].

Anti-poaching measures and conservation programs

The Indian government passes important conservation and anti-poaching measures to prevent the poaching of their native tiger species. In 1972 the Indian government passed the Wildlife Protection Act which basically made the killing or trading of tiger species illegal and created an punishment for any sorts of illegal poaching.The handling and trade of tiger parts became illegal in India with the implementation of the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972, followed by the documentation of cases in the 1980s. Southern Indian states recorded the maximum tiger smuggling cases as they have a viable tiger population[9].In 1972, the year the Wild Life (Protection) Act was passed and nine tiger habitats were established, demand for tiger parts declined and interest in tiger protection increased. Tiger populations improved slightly throughout 1972 to 1987. Incidences of tiger crime were rare during this time, prompting the authors to call this era “the golden years for wild tigers in India” [18].In 1973 India launched Project Tiger which was one of first tiger conservation program India instituted on. Project tiger created protected tiger reserves and it led to an increase of tiger population.Here in the dense forests in the heart of central India, the reserves of Madhya Pradesh are playing a crucial role in what the government says is the success story of Project Tiger. Launched 50 years ago, the country’s flagship conservation programme has seen tiger numbers rise from 2,967 to 3,167 as of the latest census released by prime minister Narendra Modi this April.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ Tiger poaching and trafficking in India: Estimating rates of occurrence and detection over four decades, Koustubh Sharma, Belinda Wright, Tito Joseph, Nitin Desai, Biological Conservation, Elsevier, Volume 179, November 2014, Pages 33–39
  2. ^ "National Geographic Society Newsroom". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "Poaching for Chinese Markets Pushes Tigers to the Brink". HuffPost.
  4. ^ "Faulty Counts May Have Hurt India Tigers, Experts Say". news.nationalgeographic.com.
  5. ^ Wall, Kim (June 20, 2014). "India's Hidden Tiger Poachers".
  6. ^ "Sansar's Successors | Raman Kirpal | Tehelka.com". www.tehelka.com.
  7. ^ a b c Guynup, Sharon. "Illegal Tiger Trade: Why Tigers Are Walking Gold – Voices". voices.nationalgeographic.com.
  8. ^ "India becoming global tiger poaching hotspot". dw.com. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  9. ^ a b c Nittu, George; Shameer, Thekke Thumbath; Nishanthini, Nanjanad Kannan; Sanil, Raveendranathanpillai (2023). "The tide of tiger poaching in India is rising! An investigation of the intertwined facts with a focus on conservation". GeoJournal. 88 (1): 753–766. doi:10.1007/s10708-022-10633-4. ISSN 1572-9893. PMC 9005341. PMID 35431409.
  10. ^ a b "Global Network's Concern Over Indian Data On Tiger Poaching". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-23. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  11. ^ "Sansar Chand, notorious tiger poacher, dead". The Times of India. 2014-03-19. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  12. ^ "Sansar Chand, notorious tiger poacher, dead". March 19, 2014 – via The Economic Times - The Times of India.
  13. ^ "Wriggling Out Of The Skin, Jay Mazoomdaar, Tehelka, 2013-07-27".
  14. ^ Sansar Chand Is India’s Deadliest Poacher. Here Is How He Has Escaped Legal Traps For 40 Years, RAMAN KIRPAL, Tehelka, August 7, 2010,
  15. ^ "Sansar Chand, who wiped out Sariska tigers, dies of cancer". March 18, 2014.
  16. ^ "Poacher Sansar Chand arrested in Delhi, Outlook, JUN 30, 2005".
  17. ^ Haider, Tanseem (12 July 2016). "Notorious poacher Sansar Chand's son arrested in Delhi for wildlife trade". India Today. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  18. ^ a b c d Darlim, Selena (2017-02-03). "Tiger Poaching In India". Faunalytics. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  19. ^ "How the return of poaching threatens India's tiger success story". The Independent. 2023-06-18. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
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