Kerala local bodies might get 'licence to kill' wild boars

After repeated rejections from the Centre to declare wild boars as vermin, the Kerala government is mulling the option of empowering local bodies to kill wild boars that could be harmful to human lives.

Wild boar menace has been reported from several parts of Kerala, as the animals not only destroy crops but also cause road accidents. According to the Kerala Independent Farmers’ Association, in the past one-and-a-half years, 21 people have been killed by wild boars in the state.

At present, by following a cumbersome procedure, the forest department is empowered to issue orders to kill wild boars that cause threat to human settlements. To bypass this, the state government is exploring the option of empowering the local bodies.

Forest department sources said that the move might face resistance from animal welfare organisations as it could be considered a bid to ease the procedures for killing wild boars. Reportedly, some states already have a system, wherein a committee of representatives from various departments as well as the local bodies take decisions in this regard.

Kerala Forest Minister A K Saseendran said that the forest and local self-government departments have been asked to prepare guidelines to empower local bodies to dispatch wild boars. The guidelines would then be placed before the state cabinet for approval, [he explained.?](citation required).

In a bid to curb the wild boar menace, the Kerala Forest department had also mooted catch and release of wild boars in forest areas with high tiger concentration, in a bid to increase the issue of dwindling prey for tigers could be also addressed.

Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), India’s apex animal rights organisation, strongly opposed Kerala’s plea to Centre to declare wild boar as vermin.

While farmers cited the 2011 enumeration of wild boar population in Kerala at 48,043 and claimed it had increased manifold, the FIAPO in a representation to the Centre said that the wild boars in Kerala in 2002 was 60,940, and the number reduced to 48,034 by 2011.