The Telangana government on Monday officially declared that hunting a wild boar is legal, mainly in areas where the animal has turned into a pest destroying crops and is fit to be declared as 'vermin', Times of India reported.
An announcement was made to this effect, by forests and environment minister Jogu Ramanna in Hyderabad. The minister was reviewing complaints from farmers of various districts.
Though any such hunt will first have to receive the approval of the local forest department officials, who will determine the level of threat posed to crops, no cases will be booked against farmers looking to protect their crops.
"The attacks by wild boar on crops have been vexing farmers and it is time to take some action," TOI quotes the minister as saying.
This comes a few months after Ramanna had announced in the legislative assembly that wild boars have turned into a menace for farmers in parts of Adilabad and Nizamabad and the government would soon issue orders enabling the animal to be hunted.
Declaring the wild boar as a 'vermin' is relatively easy, as the animal is not considered an endangered species.
Meanwhile, the minister also reportedly granted Rs 55 lakh to control the menace of monkeys. Orders were issued to form teams who would be trained for capturing monkeys and release them in remote forest areas.