Coimbatore farmers urge govt to give training and equipment to forest personnel to chase wild animals away

| TNN | Jun 11, 2018, 19:27 IST
(Representative image) (Representative image)
COIMBATORE: A spate of attacks on livestock and crops by animals in the foothills of the Western Ghats has prompted farmers associations to appeal to the Coimbatore district collector to give the forest department the required training and equipment to chase the animals away and study their movement.
The farmers have also called for a census to be done on the leopard population, like it is done for elephants and tigers, so that it would be easier to allot funds to tackle the problem and award compensation.

According to the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, crops are damaged and livestock are snatched away at night by wild animals like leopards, bears and wild dogs in places like Anaikatti, Bouluvampatti, Velliangadu and Dhaliyur which are located just outside the forest border. “Besides causing life-changing financial losses, they are also a threat to our lives,” said district president of the association S Palanisamy.

Farmers said when they approached the forest department to catch the wild animals roaming in their area, forest personnel often struggled without necessary vehicles and knowledge. “So we request you to provide them (forest personnel) with more vehicles and knowledge of these animals’ movement patterns and population,” said Palanisamy.


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