The Kerala government has called on the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to revise the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA), to enable it to cull wild animals that encroach upon human settlements
Kerala's Requests to the Union Government
Revise WLPA, 1972 to permit culling of “man-eating” or hazardous wild animals without unnecessary procedural hold-ups.
Designate Wild Boars as Vermin under Section 62 of the Act, allowing their hunting in specified zones for a restricted duration.
Remove Bonnet Macaques from Schedule I, enabling wildlife authorities to directly capture and relocate them.
Causes of the rise in human-wildlife conflict.
Deteriorated Habitats: Logging, construction projects, and agricultural growth have reduced and broken up wildlife habitats.
Increase in Specific Animal Numbers: Surge in the wild pig and monkey populations, particularly bonnet macaques, has intensified the conflict.
Human Actions: Livestock grazing in wooded regions and alterations in farming methods draw wild animals.
Ecological Imbalances: The decrease in apex predator populations from past hunting policies has caused an abnormal rise in herbivore species.
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
– The WLPA, 1972 comprises six schedules that designate various levels of protection:
Schedules I & II: Offer the highest level of protection to species such as tigers, elephants, and others. Violations under these schedules carry the severest penalties.
Schedule V: Enumerates species deemed ‘vermin,’ including common crows, fruit bats, rats, and mice, which may be hunted freely.
Process for declaring Vermin
– Request from State Government: A state government may ask the Central Government to classify a wild animal as vermin if it is causing substantial problems such as property destruction, crop loss, or threatening human safety or livestock.
– Central Government Notice: The Central Government may, through a notice, classify a wild animal (excluding those listed in Schedule I and Part II of Schedule II) as vermin for a designated region and time frame.
– Loss of Protection: When labeled as vermin, the animal no longer has protection from the Wildlife Protection Act.
What worries people?
Ecological Disruption: The balance between predators and prey is impacted by mass culling, which leaves a void in the food chain.
Danger to Non-target Animals: Tigers and leopards have been captured in wild boar traps in Karnataka and other states.
Absence of Data: A lot of decisions are made without thorough information on conflict hotspots, crop damage, or species populations.
Moral Issues:
Animal life's sanctity: Mass or unwarranted culling raises ethical questions regarding wild animals' right to life.
Species Discrimination: Designating some animals as "vermin" can result in their systematic eradication for reasons of convenience rather than ecological necessity.
Welfare Violations: Both target and non-target species frequently endure needless suffering as a result of lethal traps and cruel killing techniques.
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