Permit farmers to hunt wild boars destroying agricultural lands: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court today, offered interim relief to several farmers by allowing them to hunt the wild boars that destroy their agricultural lands (KV Sebastian Vs State of Kerala).Single-judge Justice PB Suresh Kumar saw it fit to pass an interim order directing the Chief Wildlife Warden to allow persons to hunt boars in the areas where agricultural lands are situated, as provided for in Section 11(1)(b) of the Wildlife Protection Act."As it is seen that the properties of the petitioners are under threat of the attack of the wild boars and ... as the stand of the State Government is that the steps taken under Section 11(1)(b) of the Act to avert the said menace did not yield any result and that the only alternative to protect the interests of the farmers is to declare wild boars as vermin in specified areas in the State," the Court said..The Court was hearing a petition filed by agriculturists holding lands in the Districts of Pathanamthitta, Malappuram and Kozhikode in Kerala.Advocate Amal Darshan, appearing for the petitioners claimed that the petitioners have faced continuous destruction of their crops due to large scale intrusion of wild boars from nearby forests. Further, he contended that the various steps taken in the past by the concerned authorities under Section 11(1)(b) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (the Act) failed to remedy the situation.He, therefore, sought directions to the Central Government to declare wild boars as vermin in the affected areas in the State as per the provisions of Section 62 of the Act. .The Court noted in its judgement that the State Government had, in November 2020, heard similar grievances and placed a request with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India to declare wild boars as vermin in problematic areas. .As per provisions of the Act, if wild boars are declared as vermin, it can be hunted by the persons concerned to prevent damage to their life and property. .This request was quickly returned by the Union Ministry suggesting that the State make use of Section 11(1)(b) of the Act and utilise the services of Panchayat Raj Institutions. .The Court noted that the State Government on June 17, 2021 took up the matter again with the Union pointing out that the various steps taken by the State Government since 2011 had not yielded any effective results..However, the Central Government is yet to take any final decision in the matter, it was pointed out..The Court stated that under Section 11(1)(b) of the Act, the Chief Wildlife Warden is empowered, if he is satisfied that any wild animal specified in Schedule II, Schedule III or Schedule IV, has become dangerous to human life or to property including standing crops on any land, to permit by order in writing any person to hunt such animal or group of animals in that specified area..Therefore, in the interest of protecting the interests of farmers, the Court directed the Chief Wildlife Warden to permit the petitioners to hunt wild boars in the areas where their agricultural lands are situated.[Read Order]