Pulppalli: Farmers’ organisations in Wayanad have launched protests against the Forest Department after three local farmers were arrested and remanded for allegedly killing a Malabar Giant Squirrel while trying to scare it away from their farm with an air gun.

The arrested farmers — Jayan Pulikkal, Rajan Pulikkal, and Shino Kuzhuppil, all residents of Amarakkuni — were taken into custody on Tuesday and later remanded to judicial custody.

The Karshaka Sangham, the farmers’ wing of the CPM, has condemned the arrests, calling them anti-farmer and contrary to the spirit of the state government’s pro-farmer policy.
“Low-power air guns are legal and widely used by farmers to scare animals and birds that destroy crops,” said A V Jayan, district president of the Sangham. “How can we deny farmers the right to live and farm with dignity while caring for wildlife? Is the farming community inferior to the wildlife?”

The organisation has begun fact-finding visits and plans to submit a protest to forest officials. “A massive campaign is being planned against such arrests and the use of non-bailable sections against farmers,” Jayan added.

Farmers argue that wildlife damage is no longer confined to areas near forests. “A single Malabar Giant Squirrel can destroy all the tender coconuts on a tree in no time,” said a farmer, adding that guava, rambutan, banana and other fruits are also frequently damaged by squirrels, birds and monkeys. 

A protest meeting held on Thursday demanded the immediate release of the farmers. P V Samy, who chaired the meeting, alleged that forest officials circulated photographs of the arrested farmers “as if they were criminals or anti-nationals”. Protest marches to regional forest offices are being planned.

A senior forest official said the arrests were made under Section 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act, which empowers officials to arrest any person involved in wildlife crimes. “Using an air gun to scare animals is allowed, but if it causes harm or death, it becomes a punishable offence,” the official said, adding that some air guns are illegally modified to increase their firepower. In India, the Malabar Giant Squirrel is listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN list due to significant habitat loss, deforestation, and fragmentation in the Western Ghats and other forest areas.

The controversy comes just a day after the Kerala Assembly passed the Kerala Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill and the Kerala Forest (Amendment) Bill, which empower the Chief Wildlife Warden to order the shooting or tranquilising of wild animals that attack humans or enter human settlements. The Forest Department now faces mounting pressure from farmers’ groups demanding the immediate release of the arrested trio.