New Delhi: The Union environment ministry has reminded states that it’s within their power to deal with problematic animals, after being petitioned by some states to keep the killing of animals like the wild boar or blue bull (nilgai) that harm crops out of the purview of the regulations in the Wildlife Protection Act.
“As per Section 64 (of the Wildlife Protection Act), state government has all the powers to make rules…. The States will accordingly have all powers to define criteria for identification of problematic animals or groups and propose methods of dealing with those including that of disposal in case such animals/groups are to be eliminated. States have the mandate to frame rules and implement the relevant provisions of the Act objectively,” an advisory by the environment ministry said.
The advisory was issued on Wednesday in response to demands that the ministry keep killing of animals like the wild boar and the blue bull out of the purview of wildlife regulations.
Recently, the Rajasthan government had sought the environment ministry’s help to deal with large-scale destruction of crops by herds of nilgai in the state. Not just the nilgai or the wild boar, the advisory also applies to other animals mentioned in various schedules of the Wildlife Protection Act in case state authorities are convinced that a particular animal (or a herd of them) has become dangerous to human life or property, or it has become so disabled or diseased as to be beyond recovery.
In Karnataka, the authorities a few days ago issued orders for killing a tiger that had mauled a woman to death.
The issue was also discussed by a high-level committee formed under former cabinet secretary T.S.R. Subramanian which reviewed environmental and wildlife conservation laws of the country.
In its report, already submitted to the environment ministry, the committee said it had been informed about significant damage being done to agriculture, horticulture and floriculture by the nilgai, wild boar and simians.
The committee noted that since there are “some sentimental issues attached to these animals, these have to be balanced with the need to control their local population in specified local areas, where they assume unmanageable proportions”.
But the committee disagreed with proposals to transfer such animals to Schedule V of the Wildlife Protection Act and instead recommended that the environment ministry issue a circular to all states apprising them of powers already vested in them to take action against such problematic animals.
Schedule V of the act includes animals that are considered vermin (that are harmful to crops) and can be hunted freely if they are harming crops. They include the common crow, fruit bats, mice and rats.
