Only wild boar, no other ‘nuisance’ to be Vermin in Goa?
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 13 February 2016 20:41 IST
It appears that no other ‘nuisance animal’ than wild boar would be declared a vermin in Goa by the central government.
Amidst controversy, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has already clarified that it would not even recommend Bison, the state animal, and Peacock, the national bird, to be declared as vermin.
Yet another ‘nuisance animal’ considered prominently is monkey, though Goa government is yet to prepare an official recommendatory list of animals to be declared vermin.
Public debate is heating up in Goa following the Ministry of Environment and Forests directing all the state governments to recommend the list of nuisance animals for declaring it vermin.
As per the centrally regulated Wild Life Animals Protection Act 1972, animals listed in Schedule V are vermin, who threaten human society by spreading diseases or destroying crops and livestock.
Once declared vermin, these animals can be hunted or culled without restriction, for a limited period.
Following media reports of Goa thinking of recommending national bird and state animal as vermin, BJP spokesperson and MLA Dr Pramod Sawant today clarified that it is a ‘false news’ and chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar has also confirmed it.
Agriculture minister Ramesh Tawadkar had yesterday said he had received complaints regarding wild boar, monkey, bison and peacock, which are destroying crops of the farmers and had become a nuisance.
CONGRESS ALSO DOUBLE SPEAK
As the news flashed that bison and peacock may be recommended by Goa government in the vermin list, Goa Congress President Luizinho Faleiro immediately jumped at the opportunity to allege that the BJP government is all out to finish the state, including its animals and birds.
But his senior Congress colleague and opposition leader Pratapsing Rane still insists that wild boar and monkey must be declared a vermin.
Being a farmer from Sattari, the former CM however suggests that modern technical methods be invented to keep the bison and peacock away from the crops rather than declaring it vermin.
MONKEY REJECTED, WILD BOAR ACCEPTED
While it is clear that bison and peacock would not figure in the recommendatory list of Goa, the centre has already rejected recommendations of three states – Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh – to declare monkey as vermin.
Though Goa may have a strong case due to monkey fever (Kyasanur Forest Disease) creating havoc in Sattari taluka, forest officials feel the MoEF then may consider monkey as vermin only for one taluka and not the whole state.
The MoEF does not consider state boundaries but certain areas to declare any animal as vermin.
Goa however may succeed in getting wild boar declared a vermin since the centre has already declared it in Bihar and Uttarakhand, but in certain districts.
No matter it is declared vermin or not, hunting of wild boar is a well-known phenomenon in Goa, obviously illegally.
We seems to be existing in an era where humans are directly in conflict with other habitats present on earth. But only natural justice will traimphon at the end of the day.