PANAJI
The State government’s decision to declare wild boar as vermin has not gone down well with animal activists and rescuers who doubt the futility of the process.
Recalls wildlife researcher Hanumant Gawas who has been active in the field for over a decade. “Similar announcements were made in the past by the Laxmikant Parsekar government when it was in power,” he reminded.
Gawas says, “wild boar is a region-specific problem. Specific animals are prominent in specific villages and not in the entire State. We need region-specific solutions and not declare a particular animal vermin.”
After the government made the vermin announcement, farmers said they were not troubled by wild boars, but monkeys, peacocks and porcupines. They say the problem of bison was also area-specific.
Gawas warns, “We must look at the larger picture. Once an animal is declared vermin under schedule 5 category, hunting of the same will be allowed by law and this will increase incidents of illegal poaching.”
Atul Sarin, founder of Welfare for Animals in Goa, also seconds what Gawas has to say. “Instead of controlling or banning wild boars from entering the fields, farmers can have either physical fencing or electric/sonic fencing. Sonic fencing has proven to be very effective in stopping the animals from entering the fields,” Sarin suggests.
He says in Tamil Nadu, fireworks are used to frighten elephants and keep them at bay. Such and other methods could be used in Goa too, Sarin adds.
Gawas says instead of killing animals, the government can compensate the farmers for their crop loss within 15-30 days.
Animal Rescue Squad chief Amrut Singh looks at the issue differently. “Eliminating wild animals like monkeys or boars to save crops is only a short-term solution. It will act as a boomerang as, eventually, it will increase the incidents of big cats entering the villages to find prey,” he cautions. “Killing is allowed only if the situation goes out of control,” Amrut adds.
Most animal lovers like Amrut opine scientific research on animal behaviour is lacking in the State.
While declaring any animal as vermin, the rules for killing it should be stringent. No vermin animal should be killed in the forest where it belongs. And if it is found that the animal is killed in the forest and the meat is being sold or consumed by humans, the law should punish the culprit, opines Amrut.
Warns an animal researcher from Ponda, “The Forest department appointed persons, and not the farmers, should be allowed to kill the vermin, that too in specified situations (if it enters the fields or endangers human life). “Otherwise, the commercial killing of wild boars will result in tigers and lions entering the human spaces,” he cautioned
The Sawant government declared that the decision was taken at a meeting of the forest department considering the complaints of crop damage by wild boars. Declaring an animal vermin is a long process and needs approval from the National Wildlife Board. Goa has not yet received such a nod from the NWB.
