Local bodies to get special powers to kill wild boars

Thiruvananthapuram: After the Centre’s rejected the request to declare wild boars as ‘vermin’ for allowing citizens to kill them without any control, the Kerala forests and wildlife department is set to use certain provisions in the Wildlife (Protection) Act to provide powers to the secretaries and presidents of local bodies to issue independent orders to kill wild boars that are harmful to human life. Local body presidents will become ‘honorary wildlife wardens’ and secretaries will become ‘authorized officers’, with magistrate-level powers to issue orders for killing wild boars.
The secretaries of the local self-governance department and forest department and chief wildlife warden were asked to form guidelines in this regard on a war footing. A detailed proposal in this regard will be submitted before the chief minister soon. Once he approves it, the proposal will be presented before the cabinet for clearance. Section 11-B (1) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act provides powers to the chief wildlife warden to issue special orders to kill wild animals, if there is no other option. The chief wildlife warden also has the power to delegate officials to take decisions in this regard. Using this legal provision, the department plans to give special powers to local bodies to kill wild animals.
It is learned that guidelines in this regard will not allow consumption of killed boars and killing with explosives, poison, snarl and by electrocution. Guidelines will have provisions to prevent misuse of it.
The panchayats that share borders with forests will be exempted from such powers. In such panchayats, power will be vested with the forest department itself.
According to the Kerala forests and wildlife department data, 34,875 wildlife attacks have been reported in the state since 2011 and it also claimed the lives of 1,233 people. A total of 6,803 people were also injured in the attacks.
“The Centre has been rejecting our requests for declaring wild boars as ‘vermin’. Once declared vermin, farmers can kill them without any restrictions. We cannot turn a blind eye on the plights of farmers due to wild boar attacks. It was in a high-level meeting that we took a decision to provide magistrate-level powers to the secretaries and presidents to issue orders to kill wild boars. The proposal requires cabinet approval, and we are in the process of preparing guidelines to be followed once it is implemented,” said forests minister A K Saseendran.