Entry of domestic cattle into national parks is dreaded not only for the potential escalation of man-animal conflict but also for the possible outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, which are carried by the domestic cattle.
Though the Forest Department and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences routinely vaccinate domestic cattle there are chances of not all animals being inoculated against the diseases and this could spread to wildlife.
The population of the Indian Gaur in Bandipur was almost wiped out during such an epidemic of rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease in Bandipur in the late 1960s.
But activists are also concerned that unless there was a curb on the unauthorised entry of people, it could encourage potential poachers and smugglers to gain easy access into protected areas jeopardising the safety of wildlife.
National parks are also plagued by the proliferating number of devotees to places of worship inside the national parks which disturbs wildlife while sand mining is also taking its toll on the fringes of Nagarahole.
