Why does Kerala want the Centre to amend the Wildlife Protection Act?

Kerala Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (February 14) unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union Government to amend relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 to address the escalating human-animal conflict in the state.

We take a look at exactly what sections of the act Kerala wants amended, why it is making such a demand, and how an amendment might finally address what has become a major crisis in the state.

Demand to amend section on hunting

Section 11 of the 1972 Act regulates hunting of wild animals. As per clause (1)(A) of the section, the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of a state may — if satisfied that a wild animal specified in Schedule I (mammals) has become dangerous to human life or disabled or diseased beyond recovery — permit hunting or killing of such animal. The section gives powers to the CWLW to order killing of such a wild animal, if it cannot be tranquillised or relocated after capturing.

Now, Kerala wants to amend the Section 11 (1) (A) so as to devolve the above-mentioned powers of the CWLW to Chief Conservators of Forests (CCF) instead. Such an amendment, the state feels, would simplify procedures for dealing with wild animals posing a threat to human life, by enabling speedy and timely decisions to be taken at a more localised level. Kerala has five CCFs, each in charge of a different region of the state.

Demand to declare wild boar as vermin

Kerala also wants the Centre to declare wild boar as vermin, as per section 62 of the Wildlife Protection Act. According to this section, the Union Government can notify any wild animal in Schedule II of the Act (which protects it from hunting), as vermin for a period of time in an area/state.

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An animal is declared as vermin when it poses threat to life and crops. Once declared as vermin, wild boar would lose its protection from hunting, thus enabling the state and citizens to cull the wild boar population to protect against the menace the species poses to life and livelihood.

An escalating crisis

Kerala has seen a steady rise in human-animal conflict in recent years. Attacks from wild animals not only pose a threat to life, but have also wreaked havoc in the state’s agriculture sector. The issue has now come to a head after a radio-collared wild elephant strayed into a village, chased people, and trampled a person to death in Wayanad.

Government data for 2022-23 recorded 8,873 wild animal attacks, of which, 4,193 were by wild elephants, 1,524 by wild boars, 193 by tigers, 244 by leopards, and 32 by bison. Of 98 reported deaths, 27 were due to elephant attacks. Moreover, from 2017 to 2023, there were 20,957 incidents of crop loss due to wild animal raids, which also killed 1,559 domestic animals, mainly cattle.

Must Read | Behind escalating human-animal conflict in Kerala

Wild boars, in particular, are notorious for devastating farmland. After the Centre previously rejected demands for declaring the species as vermin, Kerala, in 2022, empowered local self-governing bodies to deploy licenced shooters to kill wild boars that raid crops and foray into human settlements. Once killed, forest officials were to be informed about the act, and the carcass of the boar was to be burned on the spot.

However, this step did not help address the wild boar menace for want of licenced shooters in villages, as well as the long-winding process of involving the forest department after every killing. This is why the state is once again pushing wild boar to be declared as vermin, which would allow villagers to deal with the menace themselves.

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