Kerala to reiterate demand to declare wild boars as vermin

In view of protests against human-animal conflicts in Kerala, the state government will urge the Centre again to declare wild boars as vermin.

Kerala forest minister A K Saseendran said the state government would explore bringing in legislation to address the issue.

The minister’s statements could be considered a damage control exercise as his remark on Sunday criticising the stirs over human-animal conflicts did not go down well with the farmers and the church heads, who led the stir.

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Three persons, including two at Kottayam, were killed in a boar attack on Friday. The forest minister said that deliberate attempts were on to cause an uproar against the government as he flayed the trend of staging stirs with bodies of those killed in human-animal conflicts. He also warned of stringent action against such stirs and asked outfits like Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council to keep off from such protests.

After KCBC sternly reacted to the remarks, the minister toned down his stand.

The version of some forest officials that the boar that killed two persons in Kottayam was suspected to be agitated following a poaching bid had also triggered criticism from the local community and church heads.

It’s been a long-pending demand of the state government and the farmers to declare wild boars as vermin. The Centre had earlier rejected the demand. The Centre would also be urged to amend the Wildlife Protection Act to effectively deal with wild animals entering human settlements.

The minister also said that the state law department would be consulted on the scope of bringing in legislation to address the human-animal conflict. The Kerala government also extended the temporary permission given to local bodies to shoot wild boars that trespass human settlements.

Even as the Kottayam district administration on Friday issued an order to shoot the boar that killed two persons, there were stupors on whether the boar should be killed or tranquilised. Forest authorities said the boar that killed two persons was not spotted again.

Kerala recently witnessed a protest over relocating a wild elephant in the Idukki district. Even as the Kerala forest department initially decided to dart and tame the wild tusker named, the court intervened and the tusker was relocated.