Hyderabad: In the backdrop of the debate that began with the recent criticism by Union minister Maneka Gandhi of her Cabinet colleague Prakash Javadekar on the Centre giving permission to cull wild animals, experts say it is important to highlight both sides of the coin — the lack of action taken regarding the human wildlife conflict as well as economic losses that farmers face.
Ms Gandhi had characterised the Centre’s permission to cull Rhesus macaque monkeys in Himachal Pradesh and nilgai in Bihar after terming them as vermin as “a lust to kill.”
Last year, the Union ministry of environment and forests had sent an advisory on human-wildlife conflict to all states governments, laying down guidelines on how to identify “conflict zones” and form “management plans” for such zones.
While forest officials in the two Telugu states claim that they have such plans in protected areas, these areas just form 29 per cent of total forest area in Telangana state and 23 per cent in Andhra Pradesh.
There is no scientific study, document or statistics available with both states regarding which mandals, tehsils or villages are worst affected due to human-wildlife conflict, and the mitigation efforts.
While this is so, the TS government has gone ahead and formed a panel of shooters and decided to cull wild boar across the state.
AP has not come out with any plans to cull animals as of now, one reason being the conflict there is mainly with the blackbuck and elephant, which are protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act.
Dr Sunil Kumar Verma, principal scientist at CCMB and co-inventor of the Universal Primer Technology, a DNA bar coding method being used to solve wildlife crimes in India, posted a message on his Facebook page on the culling of nilgais in Bihar:
“If nilgai were becoming more in one specific region, it is scientific to relocate them in an area where the natural food of the tiger has become scarce. This could have been said as balance and scientific management — NOT killing. I stop my arguments here... I just say that I personally condemn this act... it is heinous, unscientific, mindless action (sic).”
However, the severe problem of human-wildlife conflict, which exists in almost all districts of Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh, troubling farmers and in some cases endangering their lives, cannot be ignored. Mr M. Rajeev Mathews, who served as a member of the Biodiversity Board in united AP, has a different take.
“For the farmer, the sound of wild boar, a herd of nilgai, a flock of peafowl or a troop of monkeys spells doom. High value crops cannot be grown. These animals trample underfoot as much or more than they consume. If you truly want to save wildlife and the environment, go after mining, river and lake pollution, the wetlands rules, the destruction of grasslands, acidification of oceans and desertification. Please do not go after the farmers who feed you and clothe you,” he said.
Protect, protect, protect: Experts
Nimesh Ved
Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations, which runs a campaign against culling
1 Eco-sensitive zones and buffer zones of protected areas must be maintained
2 Grazing zones should be developed to avoid cattle entering forests and consuming food and water, forcing wild animals to come to villages in search of it.
3 Scientific research by government as well as NGOs on data as to where the conflict is high, population estimation and landscape wise mitigation methods.
Divya Banerjee
Wildlife activist
1 Fencing and bio-acoustic equipment should be used to separate humans, animals
2 Translocation should be given a thought as was done in Panna for tigers, herbivores in forests devoid of animals
3 Protection force should be increased for preventing poaching and smuggling of timber
4 Encroachments of forest areas that is going on every year should be controlled
