{"id":49740,"date":"2025-10-27T12:05:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T06:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=49740"},"modified":"2025-10-29T11:13:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T05:43:19","slug":"kerala-seeks-amendment-to-wildlife-act-to-tackle-rising-animal-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/kerala-seeks-amendment-to-wildlife-act-to-tackle-rising-animal-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Kerala Seeks Amendment to Wildlife Act to Tackle Rising Animal Attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Wildlife Conflict in Kerala Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Kerala has requested the Centre to amend the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wild-life-protection-amendment-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972<\/a>, seeking permission to kill wild animals that enter human habitats and threaten lives or property.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Wildlife Conflict Crisis in Kerala<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Kerala is facing a surge in wildlife attacks, with 273 out of 941 village local bodies identified as conflict hotspots.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Problematic Species<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Key animals involved include tiger, leopard, elephant, bison, wild boar, bonnet macaque, and peafowl.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>While bonnet macaques and peafowls are not dangerous to humans, their crop raids have forced farmers to abandon large areas of farmland.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Human Casualties<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Between 2016-17 and January 2025, wildlife attacks have claimed 919 lives and injured 8,967 people, highlighting the urgency of the issue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Causes of Rising Human-Wildlife Conflict in Kerala<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Habitat Degradation and Displacement<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Declining quality of forest habitats is forcing wild animals to move into human settlements in search of food and space.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Population Imbalance<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A surge in populations of wild pigs and monkey species has significantly increased incidents of crop raiding and property damage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Human Activities Near Forests<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Grazing of domestic cattle in forest areas and changes in cropping patterns near forest fringes are contributing to increased encounters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ecological Imbalance<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Regional fluctuations in wildlife populations have disturbed the natural balance, intensifying conflicts between humans and animals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why Kerala Seeks Amendment to the Wildlife Act<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Legal Hurdles in Emergency Response<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Current laws require the state to exhaust all options\u2014capture, tranquilisation, or relocation\u2014before considering the\u00a0<strong>killing of Schedule I protected animals<\/strong>, delaying timely action in emergencies.<\/li>\n<li>Even when animals are captured, they cannot be kept in confinement, limiting the effectiveness of interventions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Multiple Regulatory Layers<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Apart from the Wildlife Act, Kerala must adhere to guidelines from the Tiger Conservation Authority and Project Elephant Scheme, further complicating decision-making during conflicts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Limited Powers of Local Authorities<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Although district collectors can order removal of public nuisances, court rulings restrict the use of these powers for dealing with wild animals, reducing the state\u2019s ability to act swiftly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Kerala Government\u2019s Stand on Culling Wild Animals<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The state government has urged the Centre to amend the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to permit the killing of all man-eating wild animals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Not Indiscriminate, But Controlled Culling<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The state is seeking limited, regulated culling\u2014restricted by region, season, and threat level\u2014to protect lives and agriculture, not blanket permissions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Failure of Preventive Measures<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Fencing and other preventive efforts have failed to deter wild animal intrusions into human habitats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Ineffective Wild Boar Control<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The current wild boar control system involving licensed shooters is bogged down by impractical rules, such as checking for pregnancy before shooting, rendering it ineffective.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Need for Wildlife Population Control<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The govt emphasized that unchecked growth of certain wildlife populations is escalating threats to both human life and livelihoods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Changing the Legal Status of Problematic Wildlife<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wild Boars as Vermin<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Kerala seeks to classify wild boars as vermin under Section 62 of the Wildlife Protection Act for a specific period to allow controlled culling.\n<ul>\n<li>This section empowers the Central Government to declare any wild animal specified in Schedule II to be vermin for a specific area and period.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Once declared vermin, the animal is deemed not to be included in Schedule II for that area and period, effectively removing its protection from hunting.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Schedule II<\/strong>\u00a0of the act &#8211; Trade is generally prohibited, but they can be hunted under certain circumstances, such as a threat to human life.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Revisiting Bonnet Macaque\u2019s Protection Status<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The state wants the bonnet macaque removed from Schedule I of the Act.\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Schedule I of the Act<\/strong>\u00a0lists species that receive the highest level of protection, with severe penalties for any violation.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>These are generally endangered species, and hunting them is prohibited except in cases of direct threat to human life.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Its inclusion in 2022 restricts the chief wildlife warden from taking immediate action against the species despite growing conflicts.<\/li>\n<li>Before 2022, wardens could capture and relocate nuisance monkeys.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The revised protection status now hampers timely intervention in human-wildlife conflict cases involving bonnet macaques.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Wildlife Conflict in Kerala FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong>\u00a0Why is Kerala seeking changes to the Wildlife Act?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.\u00a0<\/strong>To enable swift action against wild animals threatening human life and property in inhabited areas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong>\u00a0Which animals are causing the most conflict in Kerala?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.\u00a0<\/strong>Tigers, leopards, elephants, wild boars, bonnet macaques, and peafowls frequently invade human spaces.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3.<\/strong>\u00a0How many people have been affected by wildlife attacks?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.\u00a0<\/strong>Between 2016\u20132025, 919 killed and 8,967 injured due to wildlife attacks in Kerala.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4.<\/strong>\u00a0Why is the current law seen as inadequate?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.\u00a0<\/strong>It delays emergency response due to strict conditions on capturing or killing protected animals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5.<\/strong>\u00a0What specific legal changes is Kerala demanding?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.\u00a0<\/strong>Reclassifying wild boars as vermin and removing bonnet macaques from Schedule I protection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/kerala-wildlife-act-amended-kill-wild-animals-10055410\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/prsindia.org\/billtrack\/the-wild-life-protection-amendment-bill-2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PRS<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kerala urges changes to Wildlife Act, 1972, for culling animals entering human habitats. Seeks legal power to act swiftly against wildlife threats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":49742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,22,59,788],"class_list":{"0":"post-49740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","10":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","11":"tag-wildlife-conflict-in-kerala","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}