A British Broadcasting Corporation spokesperson on Wednesday said that they had not received any notification about an order from The National Tiger Conservation Authority banning the broadcaster from filming in Indian tiger reserves. The statement follows reports that a five-year ban had been imposed on BBC after it aired a documentary on Kaziranga National Park, which highlights the government’s aggressive policy to protect endangered rhinos from poachers.
“Any such reaction [ban] to a report on an important global issue like the appropriate way to combat poaching would be extremely disappointing,” BBC’s spokesperson said. While defending the documentary as “balanced and impartial”, the spokesperson said that the film showcased the Indian conservation programme’s successes and challenges.
“We approached the relevant government authorities to ensure their position was fully reflected but they declined to take part,” the statement said.
The NTCA had asked all chief wildlife wardens and field directors to deny filming permission to the company. The authority had issued a memorandum saying that the BBC had not submitted the documentary to the Environment Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs for a mandatory previewing.
On February 14, the NTCA had issued a notice against airing the programme without getting approval from the ministries. In a notice, the NTCA had threatened to cancel all future permits to BBC if the programme was not removed from various online portals with immediate effect. The documentary was aired on February 11.
BBC’s South Asia correspondent Justin Rowlatt’s documentary, Killing for Conservation, shows that rangers are allowed to shoot people to stop poaching. According to Rowlatt, this shoot-at-sight policy has led to the killing of 23 people by forest guards, while 17 rhinos have been poached at the park in the past one year.
Earlier, the Environment Ministry had recommended blacklisting BBC. “They [BBC] have misrepresented facts and selectively over-dramatised interviews and old footage,” park director Satyendra Singh had said. “They had a different agenda fuelled by certain foreign NGOs and local elements opposed to conservation.”
The park is a world heritage site and considered the most prestigious wildlife reserve in India.
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