Tamil Nadu, 29 January (H.S.)
Tamil Nadu Forest Department has placed orders for weapons worth ₹5 crore to modernise the force, especially to meet the need for rifles for the government’s recent decision of regulated culling of wild boars. Animal welfare activist and experts associated with National and International animal welfare campaigns are not happy and stating that such decisions are against of the animal welfare aims and objectives.
According to sources, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has placed orders for ₹5 crore worth of weapons, including 123 .315 rifles and 19 pistols, to modernize its force and carry out the regulated culling of wild boars. This comes after the state government issued an order allowing the culling of wild boars within 3 km of forest boundaries to mitigate crop damage.
In this connection, the Forest Department organised a one-day training session on Tuesday,28th January,2025 for 91 foresters and forest guards at the Tamil Nadu Forest Academy (TNFA) in Coimbatore as the first phase of training the force for the wild boar culling programme.The Special Task Force and police personnel gave firing training for them at the Madukkarai shooting range in the evening.
Dr S. Chinny Krishna, former Vice Chairman of the Animal Welfare Board of India(AWBI) ,Co-founder and Chair Blue Cross of India (established in 1964) said, Pigs are the fourth most intelligent species after dolphins, chimpanzees and elephants. And are prolific breeders. Shooting them is totally ineffective in the long run since any temporary reduction will be rapidly filled. The gestation period is 114 days and each litter is about 10. Further he stated , the “Integrated Wild Pig Control” protocol calls for most to be trapped with very few to be culled in humane methos. We must also remember that to most people in this country, the boar is an early avatar.
A historian, environmentalist and prominent writer based in Chennai, Dr Nanditha Krishna (Director, CP Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation) has opposed the Killing of wild boar and requested to follow the humane way of the population control. She said , This is a very unfortunate development. Wild boars belong to the forests around Coimbatore. Due to unchecked agricultural expansion into forest land, the boars are being killed for moving around their natural habitat.
Legal Committee Member of AWBI , LDr. S.R. Sundaram, former Legal Advisor of the Animal Welfare Board of India, is also not in favour of killing . He said , The welfare state is duty-bound to obey and strictly adhere to the provisions of animal welfare acts, rules, regulations, PCA Act and the Wildlife Protection Act. He is in opinion that some natural and other scientific procedures of animal population control should be followed instead of killing by gun.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary
