The controversy surrounding the Kerala government's decision empowering local body heads to kill wild boars posing a threat to human life and property is still raging with Maneka Gandhi, MP, too, joining the issue.
The government, in fact, has been caught in the crossfire with farmers' associations saying the move was merely an eye-wash.
The forest department has now adopted a stand that including wild boars in the list of vermin is the only permanent solution. But the Central government has repeatedly rejected the State's requests to declare wild swine as vermin.
Kerala has written three times to the Centre, demanding it to declare wild boar as vermin by shifting the animal to Schedule V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, from the current Schedule III.
Schedule V contains animals that are considered vermin and could be hunted, whereas Schedule III lists species that are not endangered, but protected by law.
The Centre initially returned Kerala's demand pointing out procedural anomalies, but later clarified that it would not declare wild boars as vermin. It, however, informed the State that they could be culled with the help of local bodies. Kerala decided to issue the ordinance based on the Centre's stand. But will it be practical?
Centre's opposition
The State cabinet approved the ordinance granting local bodies the right to gun down wild boars that are a threat to life, agriculture and property. Farmers' organisations, however, are not happy with the ordinance due to what they claim are impractical clauses.
According to the ordinance, the panchayat president or secretary should be alerted of wild boar menace and find a person with a licensed gun to shoot down the animal. By the time all these procedures are done, wild boars would have returned after completing their business in the agriculture fields, farmers argued.
The central Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change justified its decision against declaring wild boar as vermin. The major argument is that the animal is a major link in the forest ecosystem. Carnivorous animals such tigers and leopards mainly prey on wild boars. Besides, its behaviour of digging up with their tushes and snouts loosens the top soil in forests, preparing the land for the growth of flora.
Wild pigs are currently included in Schedule III of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, along with spotted deer, hyenas, etc. Though not endangered as those included in Schedule I and II, animals listed under Schedule III, too, are protected. Capturing or killing them has been prohibited.
The Kerala government's demand is to include wild boar in Schedule V, which has common crows, fruit bats, foxes, mice, etc. Animals in Schedule V could be considered as vermin and be chased away or culled. Former minister Maneka Gandhi intervened in the issue even as the government was going ahead with its plan to kill wild boars causing a threat to life and property.
Kerala's response to Maneka
Following the BJP MP's intervention against Kerala authorising local body heads to cull wild boar, State Minister for Forest A K Saseendran directed the department principal secretary to send a detailed reply to her. Kerala's move is based on existing Central government laws on forests and wildlife, and is meant to find a permanent solution to the wild boar menace people and farmers in forest fringes have been facing for years.
It is the government's responsibility to protect the lives and properties of people, the minister clarified.
Saseendran further said the government had not permitted anyone to shoot at wild boars inside the forests. Efforts are on from certain quarters to sabotage the government's good intentions. Kerala's request for declaring wild pig as vermin has repeatedly been rejected. Instead of approving the request, the central government has been issuing misleading statements. The State government had to make such a move -- to kill wild boars posing a threat -- since the Centre has been turning a blind eye towards the plight of the people.
Farmers' body disappointed
The Kerala Independent Farmers' Association (KIFA) is not happy with the government ordinance authorising panchayats and other local bodies to kill wild boars. Terming the government's decision disappointing, the organisation's chairman Alex Ozhukayil said it amounted to making fun of all those who are facing the menace.
Kerala has conditionally approved the killing of wild boars that destroy agriculture 1.5 years ago. Once an application is submitted to the range office concerned, people are given permission, albeit with riders, within 24 hours to kill the boar. The conditions, however, are impractical, and it has further fuelled the wild boar menace.
Ozhukayil said the government should allow the killing of wild boars that stray into human habitations without any conditions. The existing norm of allowing range offices to permit the killing of wild boars has been transferred to local bodies. This move would not make any change to the present situation, he added.
The KIFA leader also pointed out the contradictions in the latest ordinance. While the range officer could allow the laying of snares outside a 2 kilometre radius from forests, the new decision has banned the use of snares, which is not mentioned in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Based on the range office's approval, one cannot use crackers, poison, or electricity to cull the marauding pigs. Snares, too, could not be used within 2 km of the forest. The latest cabinet decision has banned the use of snares, even outside the 2-km radius. KIFA termed this decision a betrayal of those facing the wild boar menace.
A verdict as solution
The High Court in a July 23, 2021 order, unconditionally permitted a group of petitioners (WPC No 12496) to hunt down wild boars entering their farms. KIFA opined that if the State government could implement the same order across Kerala and applicable to all until the Centre declares wild boar as vermin, the menace could be contained to a greater extent.
