The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 is an Act established by the Parliament of India on September 9th, 1972. This Act provides for the protection of wild animals, birds, and plants. It extends to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir. It has 6 schedules that give varying measures of protection in order to ensure environmental and ecological security. Among other things, the Act lays down restrictions on hunting many animal species. The parliament has imposed many penalties on those who disobey the law and harming endangered species listed in Schedule 1 of the Act is strictly prohibited in India. Why do we need the Wildlife Protection Act? Well during the time of 1972 many species were facing a rapid decline in numbers. For example, at the turn of the 20th century, India was close to 40,000 tigers. But, a census done in 1972 showed this number drastically reduced to about 1827. These types of drastic decreases in flora and fauna can cause a major ecological imbalance that in turn affects the ecosystem. But ever since this Act has been enacted the country's wildlife is preserved in 120+ national parks, 515 wildlife sanctuaries, 26 wetlands, and 18 Bio-Reserves, out of which 10 are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
