Collared tigers
I am writing in response to the letter you published from Mr. Ronald Halder (19 March) concerning the radio-collaring of tigers in the Sundarbans. I am the producer of the BBC film 'Ganges: Waterland' to which Mr Halder refers and I want to point out some of the gross inaccuracies in his letter:
1. There is no evidence whatsoever in the film to suggest any neglect or malpractice towards the tigers which were collared. In my dealings with Adam Barlow I have always found him to be an extremely conscientious and professional scientist. The collaring operation which I witnessed was extremely well-planned and carried out with great expertise. The well-being of the tiger was always Adam's paramount consideration.
2. To suggest that we filmed a dead tiger and claimed it was alive is a flagrant and disgraceful untruth. I know for a fact that the tiger which I saw being darted walked away into the forest after waking and was seen alive several times over the next couple of days. What happened to it after the observers left the area is speculation. I can confirm, however, that the tiger's teeth were extremely broken. The resulting inability to eat would, in my opinion, account for the fact that the tiger was very thin.
3. We do not show a collar being removed from a very sick tiger in the film. Once again, this allegation is simply not true.
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