Kerala will move the Supreme Court to lift the stay on population control of wild animals, Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran said here on Friday.
The Minister, who chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the situation following the death of a farmer who was attacked by a tiger in Wayanad on Thursday, said the population of several animal species exceeded the carrying capacity of forests to feed wildlife. The State would come up with a scientific population control strategy based on culling and relocation of animals.
It was in 2013 that the Supreme Court had stayed population control measures, including culling of wild animals. As many as 13 States, including Kerala, had filed a statement in the apex court in the case.
Mr. Saseendran said the legal option and the scientific approach to population control of wild animals would help manage the escalating the human-animal conflict in the State.
Expressing sorrow over the death of the farmer in Wayanad, the Minister said six people had been killed by wild animals in the district, three in 2015 and one each in 2019, 2020 and 2023. The animals could be frequently straying into human settlements due to the pressure on food and water resources caused by the increasing population in their natural habitat.
Mr. Saseendran said a large forest force led by the Chief Conservator of Forests was camping in Wayanad to oversee the capture of the tiger by caging or tranquilising the animal. Efforts are on find a solution to the increasing monkey menace in the district.
The Minister added that the government had decided to root out the menace caused by the invasive plant species Senna spectabilis in view of the threat it posed to wildlife habitats of the Western Ghats and its potential to disturb the food chain by pushing out native flora, depriving herbivores of their forage.
Tenders would be invited for cutting down the trees.
