WildAnimal Menace PM urged to call meeting of national board

[Sakobav]

is this true or just a way to get hunting going again..? from the The Tribune

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101223/punjab.htm#1
Sarbjit Dhaliwal/TNS

Jalandhar, December 22
As the wild animal menace has become acute in this region, including Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, wildlife experts have urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to convene a meeting of the National Board for Wildlife immediately to tackle the issue.

The Prime Minister is the Chairman of the board.

The Himachal Pradesh Government has already issued a limited number of permits to cull the wild animals, which have become a threat to crops and even in some cases to human beings, such as monkeys and wild boars. Leopards entering areas of Punjab from lower forest regions of Himachal Pradesh have been posing a danger to human settlements.

Wildlife expert Gurmeet Singh said today that there was a need of scientific management of wild animals. “We should adopt the practices of developed countries to manage the wild animal population,” he said.

The culling of wild animals should also be handled in scientific manner and not haphazardly.

To deal with the monkey menace, he said the ban on export of monkeys should be lifted straightaway.

He said if permits could be given to kill monkeys what was the harm in allowing the export of these animals.

He said a meeting of the board should be convened to discuss the issues related to wild animals.

The officials concerned of the Wildlife Department have apprehensions with regard to the large scale of spill over in the state of wild animals from Himachal Pradesh where culling of such animals had been allowed. Punjab already have monkeys and wild boars in a large number.

Besides it, number of sambhars and blue bulls has also gone up substantially.

Blue bulls cause damage to crops at a large scale in the Mansa-Bathinda belt. Wild boars and sambhars cause damage in the Kandi belt.

Issues related to wild animals were not confined only to this region. Many other states were also facing problems in this regard. Some months ago, a meeting was convened by the Union Agriculture Ministry to discuss the damage caused to crops by herds of blue bulls. However, no concrete decision was taken at that meeting. Farmers at that meeting had urged the authorities concerned to tackle the menace soon. At the meeting, the Centre had declined to revive the practice of hunting of wild animals in any manner.

[snIPer]

Hope at least Wildboar and Bluebulls be on the "To Hunt" list nationally.
/S/

[mundaire]

Have first hand seen the damage blue bulls cause, for a small subsistence farmer it can literally mean an entire season of effort & investment ruined in just one night!

[Subal das]

one member here reported about foxes menace in his fish farm ponds. damage very serious indeed, about 70% of fish lost. at present situation he cant do much.

Farmers at that meeting had urged the authorities concerned to tackle the menace soon. At the meeting, the Centre had declined to revive the practice of hunting of wild animals in any manner.

farmers actually a huge voting bank, why they vote for those who did not listen.

[Rajat]

Sorry for my ignorance but even after hunting the "extra" numbers, will not the remaining animals cause damages to crops and fish farms etc. Because the remaining will again be attracted towards the easy food.

[Amit357]

Hi Rajat,we do forgive you for the ignorance ,i will explain,each wooded is area by nature is designed to sustain a particular no of various species of wildlife,ist the balance was upset by the predators ( Tigers/Leopards/Wolfs,etc,etc},being wiped out by Sansar Chand and Co,now the herbivores are thriving and lack of space and food is putting these guys out in the habitat ed areas.A study was conducted by the Fish & game Deptt in US which said the for a sustainable population of the Wild Boar 7 out of 10 Boars should be culled,US is facing the Pig Bomb these days,Wildlife has to be culled so that the natural surrounding can support it.

[Rajat]

Hello Amit, your sincere effort is appreciated

[Katana]

As an agriculturist myself, I can vouch for the fact there are three wild animals which, at best, can be described as pests. First, the blue bull, secondly feral pigs and thirdly the ring necked parakeet or the common 'tota'. Amit's view on expansionism among first two is absolutely correct and I do not have to expand on this. However, it is the latter ave which is most destructive. Believe it or not, but a study conducted jointly by the Anand Agricultural University and the Bird Conservation Society of Gujarat, found this to be absolutely correct and it justified the stand farmers in Gujarat have taken towards this bird. Huge flocks can wipe out an acre of ripening cereal crops in under half an hour and there is nothing the farmer can do about it. Unlike the other two, which can be poisoned, shot, electrified or snared, what does one do against a flock of a few hundred birds, each with a sheaf of ripening bajra, wheat or sorghum in it's beak? If I can, I shall post of copy or the salient points of the study here.

Many of you will say that there is nothing new here. That it has been going on since eons, maybe since agriculture began, but the point is that farmers are a harried lot. Hemmed in from various pressure points, unless the powers that be, give clear and lucid instructions on management of the first two species, they would make life difficult for the animals and give a free run to people with dubious intentions. Culling by itself is no solution. It is only a tool in managing human-animal conflict.

Subal, I believe India does not have an endemic species of fox, although I have seen wolves in the Kutch area.

If you have been tracking the news lately, some of you might have come across news of a leopard that had turned man-eater being shot in the Mandvi, Surat area. It is not surprising that despite the availability of a sizeable food pool, this species still uses its cunning to attempt a kill at humans. In the past few years, the forested areas of Sabarkantha, Panchmahals and the Dangs have seen a rise in their population. A fact still not accepted by the State Forest Dept., coupled with the utter lack of professionalism in their work just leads to the animal coming in conflict with humans. The result, of course, is predictable.

BTW, the gentleman who shot the leopard lately is a member of this forum, although rather dormant.

[Subal das]

humans on collision course with wild life

Katan, I never seen foxes my self in AP, but seem like here is a lot of them, not sure if they are local or not

http://www.world-wildlife-adventures.co ... ra+Pradesh

those ring necked parakeets should be allowed for export, billions can be made

[Katana]

Subal,

Can you identify the fox species and let me know? Purely from an academic interest. Most people in India cannot differentiate between foxes, wolves and dholes.

Katana

[Subal das]

Subal,

Can you identify the fox species and let me know? Purely from an academic interest. Most people in India cannot differentiate between foxes, wolves and dholes.

Katana

found some info

http://www.canids.org/species/Indian_fox.pdf

Dhole's tail quite different

[Katana]

Amazing! Never knew about this, and that too in my own backyard! I know one of the authors. Will have a word with him. Thanks Subal

[mundaire]

Katana, there are indeed foxes in India - at least in our neck of the woods. See them occasionally when driving around in the fields, especially around dusk/ night time.

Next time I see one, will try and get a photo... wait, I just googled and found this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_Fox

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[Rajat]

Huge flocks can wipe out an acre of ripening cereal crops in under half an hour and there is nothing the farmer can do about it. Unlike the other two, which can be poisoned, shot, electrified or snared, what does one do against a flock of a few hundred birds, each with a sheaf of ripening bajra, wheat or sorghum in it's beak?

I do not claim to be an expert here but I too have a bit of experience with farming. The Ministry of Agriculture has through its various departments and branches launched several schemes which may benefit farmers in a number of ways. One that I happen to know comes under the National Horticulture Mission NHM and in this nets (similar to badminton or volley ball nets but thinner) are given to farmers at just a small fraction of the actual cost and this is very effective in controlling bird pests. Please check your local Krishi office for further details.

Many of you will say that there is nothing new here. That it has been going on since eons, maybe since agriculture began, but the point is that farmers are a harried lot. Hemmed in from various pressure points, unless the powers that be, give clear and lucid instructions on management of the first two species, they would make life difficult for the animals and give a free run to people with dubious intentions. Culling by itself is no solution. It is only a tool in managing human-animal conflict.

I sort of agree with you Katana.

[Katana]

These nets are available and in use by horticulturists. However, nothing can be done about field crops.