Residents in southwest China's
Tibet Autonomous Region are set to receive compensation if they
are injured in attacks by wild animals in a bid to reduce the
number of hunters.
The regional government of Tibet is hoping the new regulation,
which will also cover damage to property, will ensure the
State-protected wild animal population is not culled by people.
Recent efforts to protect wild animals have been very successful
and their population has been increasing year by year, said Sampe
Wanggyai, a wildlife protection official with the regional forestry
administration.
"However, the animals are indeed wild and there have been
injuries and fatalities to local residents."
The local forestry administration says the wild animal
population has increased more than 30 percent over the last 20
years.
Tibet is home to almost 800 species of wild animals including
animals, birds and fish. Some 125 species are under State
protection and more than 200 species are native to the Tibetan
Plateau.
Over the past few years, wild animals, particularly bears, wild
yaks and snow leopards have attacked local people.
At the Qiangtang Nature Reserve, one of the world's largest
nature reserves, wild animal attacks on livestock and property have
cost local herders more than 1 million yuan (US$125,000) over the
past 10 years.
According to Sampe Wanggyai, northern Tibetan people are most
often attacked by wild yaks and brown bears, while those in central
Tibet have to be on the lookout for snow leopards, brown bears and
wolves.
"In a bid to protect rare wildlife and at the same time
safeguard local people's lives and property, we have been
formulating a set of rules to compensate farmers and herders who
suffer injuries and losses from wild animal attacks," said Sampe
Wanggyai.
According to the new rules, the compensation will cover human
injuries, death and damage to crops, as well as injuries to
domestic animals caused by wild animals.
The rules also say that poachers and people who tease the wild
animals will not be compensated if they are injured. Under the
rules, the cost of the compensation will be split between the
regional, prefecture and county governments.
(China Daily February 15, 2006)