KOCHI: At a time when the state is witnessing a spike in wild animal attacks, which have claimed 26 lives this year, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s statement advocating controlled culling of wild pigs has ignited a debate on balancing human development with wildlife conservation.
While the Church and farmers have welcomed the CM’s suggestion on controlled culling, conservation activists are demanding a moratorium on any policy proposal involving wildlife hunting or population control unless preceded by rigorous scientific justification and full legal scrutiny.
Animal rights activists are demanding steps to restore wildlife habitats by converting forest plantations into natural forest and raising barriers to stop wild animals from entering human habitations.
Welcoming the CM’s statement, Thalassery archbishop Joseph Pamplany said it vindicates the Church stand.
“Wild pigs, peacock and monkeys are proliferating at an alarming rate, and they have spread from forest fringes to the midlands. These animals are destroying crops and denying farmers’ livelihood. So we have demanded that the government order controlled culling to limit their population. The population of elephants and tigers has increased threefold. We don’t demand indiscriminate killing. But the government should control the population based on the carrying capacity of forests. Tigers and elephants should be tranquilised and shifted to other reserve forests. Elephant walls and trenches should be made to stop wild animals from entering human habitations,” he said.
“The forest department has been focusing on protection of wild animals, which has led to their proliferation. But the rise in the wild animal population has affected the lives and livelihoods of farmers. There should be a balance and we favour culling to control the wildlife population,” said Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) deputy secretary general Fr Thomas Tharayil.
“We have been demanding allowing hunting to control the population of wild animals. Without putting the blame on the Union government, the state government should take the initiative to protect farmers. Section 11 (2) of the Wildlife Protection Act says killing wild animals in self-defence is not a crime. Considering this provision, the government should issue instruction to forest department officials not to harass farmers who kill wild animals in self-defence,” said Kerala Independent Farmers Association (KIFA) chairman Alex Ozhukayil.
‘Avoid reactionary measures’
Cautioning that the CM’s statement encouraging hunting will lead to the indiscriminate killing of wild animals, Coexistence Collective, an organisation of environmentalists, ecological scientists, said the state needs a science-driven, ecologically sound, and legally robust approach towards wildlife management.
“We urge the state government to avoid reactionary measures such as hunting, and instead invest in science-based, compassionate, and legally sound solutions that safeguard both people and wildlife, and protect the state’s invaluable natural heritage for generations to come. There should be a transparent and participatory policy review involving ecologists, legal experts, tribal representatives, and environmental civil society groups before announcing or executing any wildlife-control measures,” the collective said in a letter to the government
“The tiger count in Wayanad has dropped alarmingly from 120 in 2018 to just 84 in 2022, a decline of nearly 30%. Statewide, tiger deaths (45) have significantly outnumbered human fatalities (six) in tiger-related incidents between 2018 and 2022. The latest scientific assessment shows a drop in tiger density in the Wayanad landscape from 9.33 per 100 sqkm in 2018 to 7.7 per 100 sqkm in 2022. This stark reduction is attributed to habitat encroachment, corridor fragmentation, and intentional killings through poisoning and snaring,” said N Badusha president of the Wayanad Prakriti Samrakshana Samithi.
“Kerala’s wild-elephant population has plummeted by 58% – from 5,706 in 2017 to just 2,386 in 2023. The 2024 synchronised census estimates only 1,793 wild elephants in Kerala, with deaths due to habitat loss, electrocution, poisoning, and other human-induced factors far exceeding human casualties from elephants. From 2016-24, Kerala recorded 763 elephant deaths versus 139 human deaths in man-elephant conflict,” said Wildlife Protection and Conservation Group coordinator S Guruvayurappan.
“The government should conduct an independent, multidisciplinary study on the root causes of human wildlife conflict and zoonotic outbreaks in Kerala, with a focus on habitat degradation, land-use change, invasive species, and climate impact. There should be a moratorium on any policy proposal involving wildlife hunting or population control unless preceded by rigorous scientific justification and full legal scrutiny,” said Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) member M N Jayachandran.
Wild elephant population in Kerala
2017: 5,706
2024: 1,793
No of wild elephant deaths (2016-24): 763
Human deaths from elephant attacks (2016-24): 139
