JOIN US2 wild boars enter house in Kerala amid protest against state govt pushing for vermin tag
A family had a narrow escape on Friday morning after two wild boars entered their house at Koorachunde, about 40 km from Kozhikode city in Kerala, and attacked them.
On Friday morning two wild boars barged into the house of Mohanan and started damaging furniture. Mohanan and family managed to escape the attack of the animals. With the help of some local people, Mohanan closed the doors of the house and alerted the forest officials.
Subsequently, both the wild boars were shot dead. The local people staged a protest demanding a lasting solution to wild boar menace as farmers in Koorachunde, a hilly area bordering the forest, have been witnessing frequent raids by wild boars on their crops.
The incident occurred at a time when wildlife protection activists are protesting against the Kerala government's decision to press the Centre to declare wild boar as vermin citing the frequent instances of man-animal conflict.
The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) has also petitioned the Centre against Kerala's request to legalise the culling of the animal.
In a letter to the Union government, the FIAPO said that Kerala's demand for declaring wild boar as vermin was not based on any scientific studies. It also expressed fears that declaring wild boar as vermin may hit the existence of the species.
As per 2002 data, the number of wild boars in Kerala was 60,940 and it came down to 48,034 in 2011, which was the last wild animal census by the Kerala forest department, FIAPO pointed out.
In a representation sent to Union Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar and other top officials, the FIAPO suggested that instead of declaring wild boar as vermin, more focus should be given on setting up fences, digging well-replenished watering holes deep inside forests and providing enough feed to pre-empt wild animals from foraying into habitation centres during summer.