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A filmmaker and conservationist in West Bengal teamed up to change local children’s attitudes toward animals by giving them cameras and teaching them the basics of wildlife photography
Wildlife filmmaker Ashwika Kapur first learned about the ritualistic hunting traditions practiced by tribal communities in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal while volunteering with a non-profit.
The hunting “festivals,” which take place each year between January and June, have dealt a massive blow to the region’s wildlife. Once backyard hunting traditions, they have evolved into organized events that claim the lives of thousands of birds, mammals, and reptiles annually.
In 2019, Kapur witnessed the festival firsthand. The scale of the killings shocked her. But what struck her most was the number of children participating, hunting small wildlife using catapults. She realized that children were being conditioned from an early age to see animals as targets.
She decided she would try to change that mindset, cultivate empathy, and spark a larger shift toward conservation, starting with five children from hunting families.
A Region Rich in Biodiversity
West Bengal is home to 10 Biodiversity Heritage Sites — the highest number of any state in India — each representing a unique and ecologically fragile ecosystem rich in biodiversity.
Many of the animals hunted are protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Hunting is illegal, yet the killings continue largely unabated, and authorities often appear powerless to intervene.
With cameras in hand, the boys began seeing local wildlife differently. At the end of the week, they discarded their catapults and started talking to family members and other children about preserving wildlife.
Among the species killed during these festivals are fishing cats, monitor lizards, pangolins, porcupines, jackals, wild boars, civets, and birds such as pittas and owls. In 2023, even a tiger was found brutally killed by hunters.
Complicating conservation efforts is the increase in hunters traveling to these festivals from nearby regions. These new hunters come from a wide range of backgrounds — they’re students, teachers, shopkeepers, factory workers, and government employees, not just local farmers, which means they don’t always know, or follow, the unwritten rules of the hunt.
“Tribal hunting has always followed strict ethical rules: don’t kill pregnant animals, don’t overhunt,” says Shilanjan Bhattacharya, professor of zoology at West Bengal State University. “But now those rules have been co-opted and eroded because of the influx of outsiders.”
A Wildlife Photography Experiment
Kapur collaborated with conservationist Survajyoti Chatterjee and invited the children — Raja Khisku, Ajay Mandi, Surajit Tudu, Tarash Mandi, and Lalu Soren, all between the ages of 10 and 13 — to take part in a week-long wildlife photography workshop. Instead of killing animals, they would take photos of them.
With cameras in hand, the boys began seeing local wildlife differently. At the end of the week, they discarded their catapults and started talking to family members and other children about preserving wildlife. They hosted an exhibition of the photos they took, many of which featured animals that were often hunted during the festivals, and enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive reception from the community.
The initial workshop and the five boys became the subjects of Kapur’s 2024 documentary Catapults to Cameras, which highlights the transformative power of nature education. The film was an official selection of the Seattle Film Festival and won Best Inspirational Film from the New York International Film Awards. In the wake of this success, the Human & Environment Alliance League (HEAL), a wildlife conservation organization, launched an ongoing project under the same name.
The Catapult to Cameras project now enrolls groups of children from hunting families to observe wildlife through a camera instead of a catapult — an effort “to eradicate the problem from its root,” says Chatterjee, the secretary of HEAL.
Chatterjee explains that when the boys enter the five-day workshop, it is unclear whether they have any compassion for wildlife. As their attitudes and perceptions are explored, they are taught basic photography.
“They are taken to zoos, shown Roundglass Sustain’s wildlife films, and guided through the process,” he says.
HEAL field coordinators also organize three to four bird-watching sessions a month for graduates of the workshop, to maintain momentum and continue raising awareness.
The five boys featured in the documentary have carried the lessons of that first workshop into their lives. Some have persuaded family members to stop hunting altogether; others actively discourage younger kids from using catapults. They have even initiated discussions within their community about hunting and remain involved with the Catapults to Cameras project.
“They lead the workshops, which is helpful because they are from the community; breaking the ice is much easier,” Chatterjee says.
One Step Forward
Despite this progress, HEAL must take measures to protect the children and their community from public scrutiny, especially from the media. Villagers are already wary of outsiders, particularly people from big cities. They are uncomfortable with outsiders being present and discouraging children from participating in aspects of their culture.
As attention grows, village chiefs have begun pressuring parents to keep their children out of conservation workshops.
Despite the delicate situation, HEAL continues to engage with the community, maintaining hope that the younger generation will ultimately bring lasting change.
“In the village, our priority is to give the children a comfortable and enjoyable learning experience,” Chatterjee says. “As they are minors, we are very mindful of their privacy and of the sensitivities within these communities. We always work with guardian permission. To keep things simple for the children, we do not invite media into their personal spaces, so the focus remains entirely on the educational experience.”
