Centre rejects Kerala plea to cull wild boar

Thiruvananthapuram: The Union Environment Ministry on Monday rejected Kerala government’s request seeking permission to declare wild boar as vermin, saying allowing the citizens to cull the animal will create more harm than good.

Kerala Forest Minister A K Saseendran said Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has promised that his ministry will examine if any other means are there to tackle the issue.

Saseendran met Yadav on Monday in New Delhi and raised the issue of increased incidents of wild boar menace in the villages bordering forests in the state. Saseendran said the farming community in the state has urged the government to categorise wild boars as vermin as their livelihood is affected due to the destruction of the crops by the animals whose population have gone up steeply.

“This was informed to the central minister. He said permitting citizens to hunt the animals will do more harm than good,” the Kerala minister told reporters in New Delhi after meeting Yadav. The Kerala High Court in July this year had permitted the killing of wild boars in agricultural land of a few farmers as the steps taken by the state government to curb the menace had not yielded any results.

Saseendran lamented that incidents of incursion of wild animals including elephants into human settlements and towns were reported in many parts of the southern state and no scientific solutions were in place to prevent such incidents. He said Yadav has assured that the matter will be discussed in detail and they would try to find a permanent solution for it.

During his meeting, Saseendran also submitted a memorandum to the central minister seeking assistance for determining borders of forests in the state and creating a proper habitat in the forests for wild animals to prevent their incursion into villages and towns in search of prey and water. -(PTI)