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| Anne Wright |
Mumbai, Dec. 6: Tigers owe it to this lady.
Anne Wright, one of the reasons the big cats are still roaming India’s wild, was today conferred a lifetime service award for her efforts at conservation and the role she played in shaping the landmark 1972 Wildlife Protection Act.
Sanctuary, India’s leading wildlife magazine, also honoured an animal keeper from Greater Manas, in Assam, and a field conservationist from the Sunderbans at the 14th Sanctuary Wildlife Awards this evening. Maheshwar Basumatary and Sarbaranjan Mondal got wildlife service awards.
Wright, daughter of a British ICS officer, spent part of her childhood in the forests of Madhya Pradesh. Later, married to a merchant from Calcutta, Bob Wright, she was shocked by the impact of the drought of 1967-68 on the wildlife in the jungles of Bihar and the trail of destruction left by poachers.
She became the founder trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature India, set up in 1969. In 1970, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appointed her a member of the Tiger Task Force for Project Tiger.
“There were no laws then. Mrs Gandhi understood the need for wildlife conservation and provided central funds. In 1970, she set up the Tiger Task Force. We eventually took up nine sanctuaries and the Sunderbans was among the original nine,” Wright, whose daughter Belinda now works as executive director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, said.
In 1971, Wright was shocked to see a thriving business in tiger skins in Calcutta’s New Market. Posing as a buyer, she met the biggest dealers and wrote an exposé, which was reprinted by The New York Times.
She was awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her efforts in 1983. She served for 19 years as a member of the Indian Board for Wildlife and was part of a host of state boards, including that of Bengal.
Wright blames China for the threat to India’s wildlife. “The Chinese are the enemies of the tiger. As long as there is demand from the Chinese market, our tigers are not safe,” she said.
