Kerala is caught in a heated man-versus-wild debate after two back-to-back deaths due to elephant attacks in Wayanad district. While a 47-year-old farmer was trampled to death by a wild elephant that strayed from Karnataka forests on February 10, a 50-year-old man died on February 16 after being attacked by a tusker. These incidents have contributed to the lingering public anger against the perceived apathy of the authorities towards the plight of those living on forest fringes.
In 2024 alone, six people have died in elephant attacks across Kerala, and five have died in Wayanad in the past four months in attacks by wild animals. With such incidents becoming frequent, even mere sightings of wild animals these days send people into panic and prompt them to take to the streets demanding that the government take measures to protect them and their crops.
The increased level of panic is costing the wildlife too. Recently, an elephant that entered Kerala from Karnataka died after being tranquilised. A tiger that was caught earlier this week in Kannur died while being taken to a zoo. About two months ago, a leopard caught in Kannur died after being drugged.
While wildlife experts have already flagged concerns over these mysterious deaths, the Kerala government on Wednesday passed a resolution asking the Centre to amend the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It wants Section 11 (1) (A) altered to empower chief conservators of forests to grant permission to kill wild animals. Worryingly, it also seeks measures to control the reproduction of wild animals.
While the resolution seems like a political measure to assuage the anger of the agitating farmers, the fact is the government has failed to address the real issues that drive wild animals to human habitations. Increased human activities in protected forests—mostly illegal—and the growth of invasive species of plants are destroying wildlife habitats.
The government must deal with these before moving to control the population and reproduction of animals. Besides, the claims of overpopulation of wildlife seem a bit stretched. The wild elephant population in Kerala has declined from 5,706 in 2017 to 2,386 in 2023.
There is no doubt that human lives should be protected and the farmers’ livelihood should be ensured, but that is no justification for the demand that the wildlife population be controlled through culling. Giving in to the argument that humans have the full right to protect themselves and their assets from wild animals using any means will sound the death knell for our wildlife.