Tamil Nadu govt to start culling of wild boars responsible for crop loss

The final decision on this issue will be taken on Tuesday after a meeting.
Tamil Nadu govt to start culling of wild boars responsible for crop loss
Tamil Nadu govt to start culling of wild boars responsible for crop loss
Written by:

The Tamil Nadu government is planning to cull wild boars, which have destroyed crops, in at least two districts on a trial basis, reported The Times of India.

However, the final decision on this issue will be taken on Tuesday after a meeting.

The culling of the boars will be extended to other districts depending on the success of the trials. It will be first implemented in Dharmapuri and Virudhunagar districts, source told ToI.

This decision comes due to the increase in attacks by wild boars in the last few years. It has been happening in Dharmapuri, Tirunelveli and Perambalur districts.

ToI reported that in 2012-2013, about 290 cases of crops being damaged were reported, in 2013-2014, the cases increased to 350 and in 2014-2015, the cases increased even more. After this, the chief warden of the state sent out circulars to tiger reserves and technical division forest officers to conduct estimates on wild boar population.

According to reports, in many districts, the population of wild boars has increased drastically. However, wildlife conservationists believe that it is not right to allow blanket permission to kill wild boars. They said that without any proper study on the population of the wild boars, it is not right to allow culling, reported ToI.

Moreover, a study carried out at Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka showed that wild boars provide 83 per cent of the biomass consumed by leopards and wild dogs, and it is also a major food source for tigers. This decision will affect the large carnivores, the study stated.

This story was first reported by Oppilli P in The Times of India.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com