Kerala: Proposal to control wildlife population draws flak

Highlighting the rise in man-animal conflict, the government has refused to address the real issues that drive wild animals to human habitations.

Image used for representational purposes only. (Express Illustration)

KOCHI: The resolution moved by Forest Minister A K Saseendran in the assembly on Wednesday demanding an amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to protect farmers from wild animal attacks, is more a political tool to pacify agitating farmers than a viable proposal, feel environmentalists and animal rights activists.

The resolution had proposed amendment of Section 11 (1) (A) of the Act which empowered the chief wildlife warden to grant permission to kill wild animals posing a threat to human life. The resolution demanded the devolution of power to chief conservators of forests (CCFs). The other proposals were to declare wild boar as vermin, and to control the reproduction of wild animals.

Highlighting the rise in human-animal conflict, the government has refused to address the real issues that drive wild animals to human habitations. The Forest Development Corporation manages around 1 lakh hectares of forest of which 7,000 hectares have been converted into plantations. Eucalyptus, acacia, casuarina, wattle, pine, albisia, bamboo, teak, medicinal plants and cash crops are grown in these plantations.

The plantations have destroyed the grass lands while the spread of alien species has led to he degradation of the forest. Besides invasive species like Lantana camara and Senna spectabilis and mikania micrantha are destroying the forest ecosystem. The degradation of forest has led to scarcity of food for herbivores which forces elephants, wild gaur, wild boar and deer to stray into human habitations.

The conversion of plantations to natural forest and construction of watering holes in deep forest can help to reduce the man-animal conflict, said former Principal CCF Prakriti Srivastava.

“We have to protect the wild habitat and maintain biodiversity to reduce man-animal conflict. We are invading their space and calling them culprits. Without forests we have no future. During my term as special officer of Rebuild Kerala Development Programme, we had launched a scheme to convert human settlements in deep forest into natural forest by providing compensation to people ready to relocate. Around 600 families relocated during my term and there were 5,000 applications pending nod,” she said. “The proposal to control the reproduction of wild animals is ridiculous. Under the animal birth control programme street dogs are caught, neutered and released. Is it a proposal to tranquillise, capture, sterilize and release male elephants and tigers? The claim of over population itself is absurd. The wild elephant population in Kerala has declined from 5,706 in 2017 to 2,386 in 2023. The tiger population in Wayanad also has declined from 120 in 2018 to 84 in 2023. If they are demanding culling of wild animals, it needs a scientific study,” said animal rights activist M N Jayachandran.

“How can you blame over-population when the recent census has indicated a sharp decline in wild animal population,” asked former chief wildlife warden O P Kaler. “These demands were not made when the Wildlife Protection Act was amended recently. There is no chance for declaring wild boar as vermin as the species has been included in Schedule 2 recently. Besides the state has given the right to panchayat presidents to order culling of wild boar that destroy crops. They have already killed more than 4,000 wild boars during the past two years,” he said.

“Why are people talking about controlling wildlife population when there are other proven models to reduce man-animal conflict,” asked Asian elephant researcher at the Centre For Conservation and Research in Sri Lanka Sreedhar Vijayakrishnan.

“Why is it that Vietnam, which has the lowest elephant population in the world, less than 100 elephants, still has conflict? Kerala can study the model implemented by Nature Conservation Foundation at Valparai in Tamil Nadu. Around 48 people had died at Valparai in Tamil Nadu over the past three decades. The conflict reduced by 60% and there has not been any casualty during the past five years. Numerous studies have brought out anomalies in the population estimation methods currently being used. So I am a bit unsure how we can conclude that the numbers, particularly that of species such as elephants, have gone up. The population control project to control reproduction of macaques in Himachal Pradesh was a huge failure,” he said.

On Day 5, Karnataka joins jumbo mission

An 18-member team comprising forest officials and veterinary experts from Karnataka on Thursday joined their Kerala counterparts in the mission to tranquilise and capture rogue tusker Belur Makhna, which killed a farmer in Wayanad last week. The action comes reportedly post intervention of high-level forest officials. During the mission to capture Thanneerkomban, the late radio-collared elephant from Karnataka that entered Mananthavady town on February 2 and caused panic, the forest team from the neighbouring state had reached Mananthavady the first day itself to translocate the animal. However, this time, the team joined the mission to capture Belur Makhna, another radio-collared elephant from Karnataka, only on the fifth day even after forest department officials from Kerala kept communicating with them. Meanwhile, the mission to capture the tusker bore no fruit on the day and will now resume on Friday. The presence of a second rogue elephant is adding to the challenges in the mission. Dr Arun Zachariah, the wildlife vet who has successfully completed similar missions before, will also join the mission on Friday.

Elephant population in Kerala