KARUR: Claiming increased threats to the peacock and fox population from the farmers in the district, activists urge officials to educate them on coexistence with fauna. Prabhakaran, an environmental activist from Karur said, "In recent times, farmers have been hunting down peacocks in large numbers citing crop damage. Many of them are either poisoning or setting traps to kill the national bird which is against law. Meanwhile, some of the so-called animal breeders in Thennilai and Paramathi have demanded that forest officials catch the foxes in their area and release them far away alleging their preying on sheep."
Claiming that foxes never target livestock like sheep or goat and the rural public as being ignorant of it, he added, “A peacock eats small insects and rodents while foxes hunt down peachicks, keeping the ecosystem in balance. People must coexist with nature and these animals instead of trying to eliminate all of them that live near their lands for their own gain. The district administration must take steps to educate them about the ecosystem."
According to Veterinary department sources, no fox attacks have been reported on such livestock in the district in the past two years. Mentioning “severe damage” to crop by peacock menace, Marimuthu, a farmer, said, “Peacocks have been eating and damaging our paddy crop. Despite efforts we can't shoo them away. With not much option left some farmers are forced to use traps to catch the peacocks damaging crop. Also, foxes in the region have been threatening our livestock. Forest Department officials need to immediately catch them and release them far away in the jungle.”
District Forest Officer (DFO) Saravanan told TNIE, "We have been constantly advising farmers not to hunt down the peacocks in their area as it is illegal. Despite conducting several meetings and trying to educate the farmers, many keep committing the offence. Both peacocks and foxes help them in many ways that they are not aware of. The villagers and farmers feel agitated if we try to make them understand the consequences."
When contacted District Collector Dr T Prabhushankar said, "We haven't received any serious complaints regarding peacock menace or fox threat in the district. The peacock population in the district has been rising as we don't have many foxes in Karur. If there is any serious threat, we will take action immediately."