Just 1411 tigers left in India. With a leading mobile service provider supporting a good cause, encouraging people to blog, sms and share. First thing that struck my mind was how can reading and writing blogs help save tigers ? Neither tigers nor poachers (who kill them) have access to internet and even if they miraculously have, blogs won't help tigers. Would it ?
I don't use anything that needs our national animal life, nor do I see any of people or met I know use anything of that sort (with one exception where tiger claw was passed to my friend by his grandfather who was passed on by his father and probably so on). People in India don't use anything (that I am aware of) that would need tigers life, hypothetically even if they needed 1411 for 1.14+ billion people. Tigers would have got extict within days "saveourtigers" campaign was first aired.
But why do poachers kill tigers ? Rather should I ask who financialy aid them to get tiger's dead body. Its not hidden fact though. Collector pay chuks of money for Tigerhide as rug. Then there is tiger claw which is considered good luck charm. But that's not all tiger is also killed for its bones and body parts also. Just as India have Ayurveda as traditional medicine, china also had traditional medicine (TCM) which uses bones and body parts as medicine. Its still widely accepted as mainstream medical care system. With chinese economy booming, increasing their purchasing power. Thus, demand pressure is increasing as more and more people can afford these medical products.
Coming back to main question, how can writing blog help save our national animal ? It would certainly help if consumers suddenly stopped using such products. Blogs can certainly help that reaching out billions of chinese people, after all China now has most netizens than any other country has. But wait, even if hundreds of blogs are written would it actually be read by TCM patronizers, may be not. Then probably much talked about China's internet censorship may block such blogs. And people who are smart to some how bypass such blockages are too busy to plan and execute cyber attacks on Google or other internet giants.
So why should one blog, send SMS and end up wasting time. The answer is simple, increase awareness so that more and more people donate money. Donate it to WWF-India to save tigers and hope that they would take effective measures to curb poaching.
Here is the quick link WWF-India Donate for tigers .
For more details browse Save our tigers
