When the Government of
Maharashtra recently took the decision of allowing the killing of nilgai
(Boselaphus tragocamelus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) on
the grounds of crop protection, it was merely following what Uttar
Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had already done earlier. Protests from
conservationists who were present during the meeting of the Maharashtra
state Wildlife Advisory Board were strong, but in the end the interests
of man over animal were considered paramount, and the order was passed.
In Uttar Pradesh, the
primary man-animal conflict that is of any noticeable dimension is the
damage to agricultural fields by herds of crop-raiding nilgai. This is
one wild species that has been sustaining its population all over the
state due to its relatively higher fecundity, as well as its propensity
to survive in agricultural areas, even though its natural habitat has
been consistently whittled down to negligible proportions. One important
factor that contributed to the nilgai’s wide spread survival in the
state was the religious reverence in which it used to be held by a large
section of the populace. This was the reason why it enjoyed some sort of
immunity from large-scale decimation, even though its consistent
depredations against farmers made them look upon it as a pest. It did
however, prompt them and their elected representatives to keep up a
continuous clamour asking the state government to intervene and provide
them saccour. In the absence of any other viable measures of crop
protection which could be resorted to by farmers, the government had to
give in to the demand to allow these raiding animals to be officially
killed by hunters.
But from a purely
official standpoint, government may receive a very few applications
requesting for permission to eliminate raiding nilgais, hence the total
number of such animals killed officially would be quite low. This
apparently stems from the long-drawn procedure involved in obtaining a
permit for elimination, with its concomitant riders like issue of permit
only to a rifle license holder, the specific location where the shot can
be taken, and the subsequent handing over of the carcass to the
department, since according to Section 11 of the Wildlife (Protection)
Act, any animal killed in the name of self defense or crop protection is
government property. Moreover, no hunter worth his salt and spices would
like to see his booty burning on a pyre prepared by the Forest
department, rather than be cooked on a fire of his own making.
But this is not to say
that this lack of official implementation of the government’s proposed
measures to provide relief to farmers, is going in favour of the nilgai.
There are enough renegade farmer-hunters who are tackling this issue of
crop-protection on their own terms and agenda. Their .315's and 12 bores
have always been lending loud support to this huge public outcry against
the depredations of the nilgai. Their tractors and trolleys are used to
bring in the crop during the day, while at night they bring home the
crop-raiders. The more modest ones are silently pegging away with their
wire-snares, sulphas tablets concealed in guavas, and deadly
electrocution lines tapped off from high-tension cables. The nilgais
they bring down will never be counted in any official record
The graphic educational campaign carried out in the state highlighting
the reasons why a nilgai was not a 'cow', and officially renaming it as
‘vanroz’, has the dubious distinction of being a huge success in
converting some peoples’ reverence into abhorrence, and ultimately
adding to the numbers of the bloodthirsty lot. The poor wild boar,
another wild species considered as a crop pest, was already on the 'hate-list'
of some, and being dealt with accordingly.
And so, there is a real
fear in the minds of conservationists that it may just be a matter of
time when the ill effects of unregulated and unofficial implementation
of a studied government policy will take a heavy toll on their
populations, making these two species jump back and forth within the
limited Schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.