Courts in India have lifted a ban preventing tourists visiting tigers in reserves and national parks.
Tourism to see tigers will no longer stand from Saturday (20 October) after the Supreme Court of India suspended its temporary ban.
Some tourism will now be limited to 20% of reserves but has been a victory for conservationists and communities that generate income from tourists coming to see the animals.
The highest densities of tigers live within reserves in India’s national parks and travel companies including Ampersand Travel have backed their conservation.
“The ban was seen by many as a victory for poachers and illegal grazers, as well as mistakenly creating the perception that wildlife tourism within Indian tiger parks harms tigers. In fact, the highest densities of tigers can be found today in the most heavily visited tiger reserves including Corbett, Kaziranga and Bandhavgarh and actually numbers in these parks have increased,” a statement from the company read.