Before the advent of modernity, tribal communities in India or for that matter the North East were largely dependent on wildlife for their livelihood, which can be called subsistence hunting. However, with change in life style and stringent laws enacted by the government against hunting, this has drastically come down. Yet, for tribal communities in the North East as well as in Arunachal Pradesh, hunting is also a part of tradition, especially during festivals. As such, conservation strategies get a blow with many of these tribes hunting endangered species too. One of the burning issues in present times is the issue of the livelihood of tribal communities whose claim to use natural resources including wildlife which is highly endangered, clashes quite obviously with all conservation strategies in place as well as with the Wildlife Act of India, highly acclaimed as one of the best laws internationally. 

International law is less constrained by the straightjacket of property rights, and has proved more supportive of subsistence hunting rights. For example, article 14 of the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention has explicitly recognised the need “to safeguard the right of the people concerned to use lands not exclusively occupied by them, but to which they have traditionally had access for their subsistence and traditional activities” which must include hunting. Article 26 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples talks of “their right to the resources which they have traditionally used” – resources which, once again, must include animals hunted for subsistence.

However, what is quite disturbing is the fact that the hunting for festivals or for subsistence has now become a commercial venture. The innocent tribal subsistence hunters have now willy-nilly fallen victims to the manipulations of not only the elite of society who love to boast of venison (deer meat) on their dining table or rare and endangered wild fowls but also of those who are engaged in smuggling of wildlife dead or alive. With Arunachal Pradesh having about 70 per cent forest cover and less forest manpower, hunting becomes easier. It was even reported that during the recent Mechuka Adventure festival, hotels and roadside dhabhas have been selling meat of wild animals, including deer, with calm abandon. Now this calls for action because this is not only commercialization of wildlife but also exploitation of innocent tribal hunters who are lured by money. Moreover, this will also open up floodgates of international smugglers in wildlife who are very active across the borders, Myanmar and China.