New Delhi, The Centre is not considering any amendment to the Wild Life Act, 1972, to give states more power to deal with wild animal attacks, the government has informed Parliament.
In response to a question by CPI-M Rajya Sabha member V Sivadasan, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said that the protection of wildlife, including human-wildlife conflict management, is primarily the responsibility of state and Union Territory governments under the Act.
The minister said Section 11 of the Act empowers the chief wildlife warden to grant permits for the hunting of animals listed in Schedule I if they become dangerous to human life or are incurably diseased.
Section 11 allows the chief wildlife warden or any authorised officer to grant permits for hunting wild animals listed in Schedule II, III, or IV if they become dangerous to human life or property or are disabled or diseased beyond recovery.
Sivadasan had sought details of requests made by states to amend the Act and its rules.
Asked if the Union government intended to amend the Act to give states more autonomy in handling wild animal attacks, the minister said, “Currently, no amendment in the Wild Life Act, 1972 Act has been proposed.”
Sivadasan represents Kerala, which has repeatedly requested the Centre to declare wild pigs as “vermin” in the state.
The Kerala government argues that damage to crops and human-wildlife conflict have been rising due to wild boars.
The ministry has advised the Kerala government to use the provisions under Section 11 of the Wild Life Act, 1972.
Section 11 and Section 11 empower the state chief wildlife warden to allow selective hunting. This is different from declaring an animal as “vermin” under Section 62 by the central government.
Once declared “vermin”, the species loses all legal protection, allowing unrestricted hunting, unlike the case-by-case permission granted under Section 11.
In 2021, the Centre had said that declaring wild boars as “vermin” in Kerala would do more harm than good.
The Kerala government later issued an order allowing farmers to kill wild boars using licensed guns in the presence of a forest guard.
This special order was extended for another year from May 17, 2022.
Last year, the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to declare wild boars as “vermin” and amend the Act to reduce human-animal conflict.
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