Panaji: Farmers in Goa have supported the western Indian state government’s move to declare some wild animals such as boars as vermin to stop damage to crops.
However, some activists and environmentalists oppose the move warning that it would lead to indiscriminate hunting and extinction of those animals, reports navhindtimes.in.
The farmers dismiss such fears as irrelevant and urged the opponents to not mix the new move with poaching. Underscoring that hunting can be undertaken only under certain procedures they urged the government to go ahead with the new move.
“The killing of an animal declared as a vermin is permitted only when crops are harvested and professional hunters with the right caliber rifles are used for the job so as not to leave the animal injured,” explains Rohan Joshi, a farmer from Bicholim, some 30 km northeast of the state capital of Panaji. He says the killed animal is a government property.
The hunting of an animal declared vermin takes place in the presence of a forest department official. “Moreover, pregnant female and young wild boars are not killed,” he added.
The farmers say they get depressed on seeing their farms being damaged by the wild animals. The compensation given by the government is also negligible and it adds up to their stress.
Joshi also claimed that hunting is the only way used the world to control herbivorous wild animal population. “So much so that in USA, European countries, Africa and Australia, hunting is also considered a sport and the meat of such animals is consumed and even exported by countries like Australia.”
At the same time poaching is a global issue just like narcotics, which is extremely difficult to control. “Poaching will continue even if these wild animals are not declared as vermin. Wild boar meat is a delicacy not only in Goa but throughout the nation,” he added.
Another farmer Mahesh Patil from Dabhal said at least eight states have already declared certain wild animals as vermin to protect crops. “Wild boars breed 2-3 times a year and produce around 8-10 piglets each time. The animal cannot be extinct if hunting permit is given for a year or two,” he added.
Farmers Abhijit Sawaikar from Marcela and Vikas Prabhu from Bethoda said that wild boar is a tough animal and the last choice of food for the wild cats.
According to them, wild boars have migrated from the forest areas to human settlements as they get plenty of easy food unlike in the jungles.
Some activists have suggested the use of power fencing and ultrasonic repellents by farmers to keep the wild animals away from the fields.
However, according to some farmers, the power fencing and ultrasonic repellents are ineffective as monkeys get used to the frequency and in some cases even go away with the device, which costs around 8,000 rupees. Besides, power fencing also needs a lot of maintenance.
“Such precautions can be taken at a later stage when the population of such animals is brought under control and they are driven back to the jungles. The government can then erect a fence around forest areas to restrict their movement within the forest areas,” said Ashok Joshi, a farmer from Hedode in Sattari taluka.