Notification of vermin

The Supreme Court on June 20 refused to stay a recent notification allowing culling of nilgais, wild boars in Bihar and Uttarakhand and monkeys in Himachal Pradesh. However, it asked animal rights organisations to make representations before the Centre regarding the three notifications declaring Nilgais, monkeys and wild boars as vermins. The matter would be taken up on the 15th of July.

The Animal Welfare Board of India termed the notifications as “arbitrary,” but it did not appeal before the court. Since 2015, the Union Environment Ministry has acceded to requests from Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Bihar to declare wild boar, rhesus macaque, and nilgai as vermin within specified territories of these States, and outside forests and protected areas.

As regards man-animal conflict, the Section 11(1) A of the the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, authorises hunting of any problem wild animal only if it cannot be captured, tranquillized or translocated. Schedules I to V divides animals into protected categories, those being in Schedule 1 shall not be hunted or culled. Animals in other Schedules are allowed to be culled in case of serious man and animal conflict under condtions.

Wild boars, nilgai and rhesus monkeys are general protected, but can be hunted. In the case of wild animals listed in Schedule II, III or IV of the Act, chief wildlife warden can permit their hunting in a specified area for a given time. If declared by the Central government as a vermin, wild animals will be part of Schedule V of the Act for the given area and time, allowing their culling.

Incidences of loss of human lives and damage to crops by wild animals are reported in various parts of the country from time to time. Keeping in view the losses to crops inflicted by the wild animals, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, on 24th December, 2014, issued an advisory to the States highlighting the legal provisions under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 to deal with the human-wildlife conflict situations.

Vide this advisory, Ministry has also sought proposals from State/Union Territory governments, after objective assessment of the situation with details of the areas in which notification under section 62 of the Act, declaring any wild animals as vermin for specified period, could be helpful in management of conflict.