COIMBATORE: A special camp organised by the forest department to sensitise staff to behaviour of wild boars and give them training to shoot them down began at the Tamil Nadu Forest Academy campus on Tuesday. Principal chief conservator of forests and head of the forest force Srinivas R Reddy inaugurated it. A total of 91 foresters and forest guards are taking part.
Speaking on the occasion, Reddy said the camp is being organised after the government issued a GO to kill wild boars if they come three kilometres out of forests boundaries. The state government has allocated Rs five crore for the project, and advanced guns have been procured from the ordnance factory in West Bengal, he added. Traps will also be procured to capture the animals alive, he added.
“We have instructed staff to capture boars using traps if they are within three kilometres from the forest boundary and release them back into the forests. We will not kill pregnant and young boars. We will shoot and kill animals that enter areas which are not notified as forests,” Reddy said. The participants were trained in handling rifles by members of special task force (STF) and police personnel at TNFA’s shooting range in Madukkarai. “Each of us shot three rounds using a 7.62 x 39 mm rifle. In the next class, the type of rifle will be changed. Most of us have already undergone similar training at Vaigai dam in Theni district,” said a participant.
“Officials told us to try not to kill the boars because they play a key role in forest ecosystem. Only boars that cause problems to farmers by ravaging crops will be identified and killed,” said another participant.