Panaji: Even as the issue of tiger killings was discussed in the Assembly on Wednesday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Churchill Alemao said tigers should be "punished" for eating cows when humans are punished for the same.

A tigress and three of her cubs were killed by five locals in Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary last month. The issue was raised by Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat through a calling attention motion on the floor of the House during the Assembly session on Wednesday.

"What is the punishment for a tiger when he eats a cow? When a human being eats cow, he is punished," he said.

Alemao said that as far as wildlife is concerned, tigers are important, but cows are also important where human beings are concerned. The human angle in the entire episode should not be ignored, he added.

Responding to the calling attention motion, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said locals had killed the tigers as the wild cats had attacked their livestock. A compensation would be paid within three or four days to farmers who have lost their cattle to animal attacks, he added.