Implementing G.O. on culling of wild boars impractical, Coimbatore farmers complain at monthly grievances redress meeting

Many farmers at the monthly grievances redress meeting on Friday sounded sceptic about the practicality of the order issued by the State government earlier this month on culling of wild boars that destroy crops in fields adjoining forests.

The order permits the Forest Department personnel to shoot down wild boars found three km away from reserve forest areas. The animals found from the first to the third km from the reserve forest will have to be caught and let into the forest. There is no permission to shoot the wild boar within a radius of one km from the reserve forest.

Farmers of villages adjoining the Western Ghats contended that the order has not factored in the ground realities of the dangers posed by the animal to the lives of people.

Citing the instance of death of 16 farmers due to attack by the animals in a private hospital in Coimbatore, V.K.S.K. Senthilkumar, member, Coimbatore District Agricultural Production Committee, called for an understanding of the best practices followed in Kerala to address the wild boar problem.

Another farmer said while it was even possible to escape from attacks by chasing elephants, confrontation with wild boars inevitably led to severe injuries or death.

At the meeting chaired by District Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati, farmers wondered if wild boars would remain at the same place until the required processes were completed.

Seeking categorisation of wild boars as vermin, farmers were also at a loss to understand how the problem could be handled as delineated in the order citing the presence of the animals in very many locations at any given point of time. The population of the wild boars had risen multi-fold, farmers said, pointing out instances of the animals moving away to longer distances from the reserve forest area in locations such as Kanuvai and Pannimadai and entirely staying put in thickets closer to the farmlands. 

The Collector replied that the order would have to be implemented on a pilot basis in the first place to determine its impact. Recommendations for further changes to the order as suggested by the farmers could be mooted to the government only based on evidences, the Collector explained.