The State government on Wednesday formed a special unit in the Police Department to probe wildlife crimes. It also weighed a range of measures to reduce the chances of human-animal conflict.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chaired a meeting of Forest and Home Department officials against the backdrop of the lingering death of a pregnant wild elephant from festering wounds caused by a booby trap explosion on a farmland abutting the Silent Valley forests in Palakkad district.
The meeting reportedly felt that the diminishing of buffer zones separating humans and wildlife and also the fragmentation of forests had caused wild boars, elephants, leopards and, occasionally, tigers to foray into populated localities in search of food, water and prey. The raids had resulted in injuries to humans, wildlife deaths and destruction of crops. Worryingly, the incursions had also provided a cover for persons to unlawfully hunt wildlife using booby traps, snares and locally made guns.
Bushmeat sale
The situation had also reportedly opened the door for armed poachers seeking to bag bushmeat for sale in the black market to operate with the support of the local community in ill-policed areas bordering wildlife reserves. The poachers sourced gun powder illegally sourced from cracker makers to hunt game. They often kept the firearms, powder and shot in waterproof packing in the woods, a wildlife enforcer said.
He said wild boar, Sambar deer, flying squirrels and mouse deer were the widely hunted species. Forest watchers often stumbled upon the carcasses of slaughtered animals.
The government would contract forest tribes to patrol the jungles. A network of camera traps and routine overflight by drones could help augment the forest patrols.
The newly formed wildlife investigation unit of the police would collect intelligence on the illegal diversion of gunpowder for criminal purposes, poaching networks and blacksmiths who fashion guns for them.
The Forest Department would clear the undergrowth and demarcate forest boundaries. It would also dig more moats, erect solar-powered electric fences, provide corridors for the movement of wildlife and rehabilitate outsiders living near protected reserves to mitigate human-animal conflicts.
Forest Minister K. Raju; Additional Chief Secretary, Home, T. K. Jose; Additional Chief Secretary, Forest, Asha Thomas; State Police Chief Loknath Behera; and Chief Wildlife Warden Surendra Kumar and IG, Crime Branch, S. Sreejith; were among those present.