Time frame extended for shooting wild boars

The Forest Department has extended the time period permitting the shooting of wild boars, causing continuous crop loss in the state, for one more year. The extension has commenced from June this year up to June 2013.

Earlier, the Forest Department had permitted the shooting of wild boars for one year on test basis from June 2011 to June 2012. Now,  the time period has been extended up to June 2013.

The Forest Department officials said that, few crop raiding boars have been culled under the law and no illegal activities have been carried out misusing the law. So there is no major flaw in extending the law for another year.  “The expert committee constituted by the previous government had recommended the law in only five districts. But later, it was carried out in the entire state. We have extended it to one more year following the few applications seeking to cull the wild boars.  Even though wild boars are being widely culled for meat, there have been no incidents reported regarding the misuse of the law till now,” the forest official said. 

The farmers facing trouble from wild boars will have to file a request before the Wild Life Warden for getting the culling permit. The Wild Life Warden will issue the permit  after consultation with the Range Officer,  Eco Development Committee and the panchayat  members. Once the boar is culled, then the  officer in the rank of Forester in the presence of two persons have to prepare a ‘Mehasar’. The meat of the culled boar should not be used and it should be either burned or be buried properly. The report on culling the boar has to be submitted before the Chief Wild Life Warden soon. A monitoring committee under the DFO and the local MLA will be constituted to evaluate the culling of wild boars in the  respective regions.

The Forest Department has also forwarded the  conditions to implement the law. The culling will not be permitted in the encroached forest lands. The wild boars having piglets are not permitted to be culled. The culling would not be permitted inside the forest and it is only permitted in the SC/ST colonies.