Dharamsala: About thirty thousand Tibetans who had gathered for the ‘spring teaching’ of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala were also made aware of the need to conserve wildlife.

From March 15 to 29, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the Care for the Wild International (CWI) had set up an awareness stall at Mcleodganj for the devotees attending this annual meet. Tibetans from India, Tibet and other countries participated.

WTI has appealed to individuals and community associations to make the best use of this platform for spreading awareness on the plight of endangered species. People were also made aware of the indiscriminate killings of wild animals for making chubas and other products.

Project Officer WTI, Pasang Lhamu Bhutia who managed the stall said that more than two hundred congregated every day to watch the educational film prepared by WTI for the Tibetan Conservation Awareness Campaign. CDs and campaign collaterals were distributed among the public.

Prior to the teaching, a special prayer meet was observed at the Main Temple where sympathies were offered to the dead animals – that were killed for making chubas (animal skin laced garments). A candlelight rally was also organized in the evening to express solidarity for those who had burnt chubas in Tibet.

According to Tsering Dorje, who had volunteered for WTI in Dharamsala, “Many Tibetans have expressed willingness to give away their Chubas. The mood here indicated that people no longer want to acquire animal skin laced garments.”

In the second week of February, thousands of Tibetans burnt animal skins including tiger, otter and fox on the streets of Tibet for several days, reacting to the strong charges labeled against them of allegedly being consumers of wildlife products. Following this, tiger, otter and fox skins were also burnt in Mcleodganj in Dharamsala.

On March 10, another incident of burning animal skins was reported from Bora in the Amdo region of Tibet. Footage of the event was also shown to the public at the awareness stall during the spring teaching.

The TCA campaign was launched by His Holiness in conjunction with the WTI and the CWI in April last year, calling for an end on the use of wildlife products. His Holiness in his message reminded his followers for kindness and compassion towards all living beings. He said, “I am ashamed and don’t feel like living when I see all those pictures of people decorating themselves with skins and furs.”

Since then, several NGOs have come forward to join the campaign. NGOs in Dharamsala have pledged to persuade the community not to use such items.