To The Point

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 has divided the protection status of various plants and animals under the following six schedules:

• Schedule I:
  
  • It covers endangered species that need rigorous protection. The species are granted protection from poaching, killing, trading etc.
  • A person is liable to the harshest penalties for violation of the law under this Schedule.
  • Species under this Schedule are prohibited to be hunted throughout India, except under threat to human life or in case of a disease that is beyond recovery.
  • Some of the animals granted protection under the Schedule I include:
    
    • The Black Buck
    • Bengal Tiger
    • Clouded Leopard
    • Snow Leopard
    • Swamp Deer
    • Himalayan Bear
    • Asiatic Cheetah
    • Kashmiri Stag
    • Fishing Cat
    • Lion-tailed Macaque
    • Musk Deer
    • Rhinoceros
    • Brow Antlered Deer
    • Chinkara (Indian Gazelle)
    • Capped Langur
    • Golden Langur
    • Hoolock Gibbon
    • Animals under this list are also accorded high protection with the prohibition on their trade.
    • They cannot be hunted except under threat to human life or if they are suffering from a disease/ disorder that goes beyond recovery.
    • Some of the animals listed under Schedule II include:
      
      • Assamese Macaque, Pig Tailed Macaque, Stump Tailed Macaque
      • Bengal Hanuman langur
      • Himalayan Black Bear
      • Himalayan Newt/ Salamander
      • Jackal
      • Flying Squirrel, Giant Squirrel
      • Sperm Whale
      • Indian Cobra, King Cobra
      • Species that are not endangered are included under Schedule III and IV.
      • This includes protected species with hunting prohibited but the penalty for any violation is less compared to the first two schedules.
      • Animals protected under Schedule III include:
        
        • Chital (spotted deer)
        • Bharal (blue sheep)
        • Hyena
        • Nilgai
        • Sambhar (deer)
        • Sponges
        • Flamingo
        • Hares
        • Falcons
        • Kingfishers
        • Magpie
        • Horseshoes Crabs
        • This schedule contains animals that are considered as vermin (small wild animals that carry disease and destroy plants and food). These animals can be hunted.
        • It includes only four species of wild animals:
          
          • Common Crows
          • Fruit Bats
          • Rats
          • Mice
          • It provides for regulation in cultivation of a specified plant and restricts its possession, sale and transportation.
          • Both cultivation and trade of specified plants can only be carried out with prior permission of competent authority.
          • Plants protected under Schedule VI include:
            
            • Beddomes’ cycad (Native to India)
            • Blue Vanda (Blue Orchid)
            • Red Vanda (Red Orchid)
            • Kuth (Saussurea lappa)
            • Slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum spp.)
            • Pitcher plant (Nepenthes khasiana)