Dark maroon or black in colour, a disc-like structure at their nose, sharp hairs from forehead to tail. Weighing anywhere between 50 to 350 kilograms and 70 to 200 centimetres in length, these are wild boars, belonging to the Sus Scrofa Affinis sub-species, and found in Kerala. For over a decade, a debate has raged over whether these animals should be shot or shooed away to curb the many issues they cause.
The Forest Department released temporary orders to shoot the animals in 2016 in light of requests by farmers who live near forest regions. But regulations stated that they could only be killed using licensed guns, and no other means of culling, such as traps or poison, would be allowed. Additionally, the carcasses should be buried so the meat cannot be consumed or sold. Environmental activists however say there are other ways to keep them away, while avoiding culling.
There are 18 species of pigs across the globe, of which 10 are endangered. But in Kerala, none of the endangered species are present. Among the wild boars, there are 17 sub-species, among them only three are found in India. The species found in Kerala is known for destroying coconuts, plantains and all kinds of tubers.
In October 2020, then Forest Minister K Raju had stated that the state would seek permission from the Union government to declare wild boar as a form of vermin. In December of the same year, Rakesh Kumar Jagenia, Deputy Inspector General of Forests (WL), granted the permission. The animals were declared vermin under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. According to Section 62 of the Act, states can suggest names of animals to declare them vermin. The Union government can grant permission through a notification, after which that particular wild animal can be included in Schedule V of the law, which states that they have no protection.
But the measure was not enough to appease farmers.
"How many of the farmers in Kerala have licensed guns? How many tribal people have it? Is it easy for a person who struggles to make their ends meet to get a license and buy a gun? After all these efforts, the boar has to be buried in his compound? If you don't do any of these things, your crops will be destroyed by these animals, and you end up in poverty," said Jose Joseph, a farmer from Kasaragod district.
According to him, they attack not only crops but also other domestic animals and people around them. "We are tired of lamenting on our loss and our helplessness. I don't know any other work, but due to severe menace from wild boars, peacocks etc.. I can't do this anymore," he added.
Last year, the death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala after the pachyderm bit into a fruit filled with explosives, had highlighted the practice of snaring in the state. TNM had reported that snares are often called ‘panni padakam’ (pig crackers) and are used to target wild boar. These traps, though illegal, have been used to hunt the animals for their meat, or to get rid of them as they can be a menace to farmers and their cultivated land.
In some parts of the state, including Pathanamthitta’s Ranni forest division, officials are allowed to gun down boars if they find the animals have attacked land and border settlements, TNM previously reported.
CR Bijoy, an expert in natural resource conflicts and governance, explained, "Without harming anything, we cannot exist on this earth. Destruction is also a part of nature. Certain species feed on some other species."
"All forest and wildlife laws in our country have nothing to do with the forest or wild, they just regulate human activities in certain regions. Moreover, many of our forests are no longer forests, they are just plantations. There are legal rights to kill animals which have been considered as invasive or vermin. In certain parts of Africa, elephants are being culled because they are a threat to forest, which in a way will cause a threat to the elephant community itself," he added.
He pointed out that wild boars are a major threat to many other endangered species, and that culling them should be considered a form of wildlife protection. He also strongly criticised the Forest Department and its regulations.
"The Forest Department rules are just a play of their power. They have no right over the forest," he pointed out by quoting Section IV of Indian Forest Rights Act 2006.
Bijoy said that the power is vested with the village to decide on the forest. The authority of the government on forests has already been transferred to these communities by law. So the decision on whether to kill the wild boar is on Gram Sabha, he said.
"The Forest Department order itself is illegal. Killing of vermin species needs continuous management, so if it's entrusted to the Gram Sabha, the human resource is huge. The forest department only has a few officials," he added.
CR Bijoy also questions the logic of using only guns to kill. Ideally that was brought to ensure a less painful sudden death to the animal. "But you cannot expect a shooter to shoot the head and immediately the boar dies. It should be a local decision; how, when, which and where it should be shot," Bijoy said.
Another argument in support of killing the boars was that they were once the protein source for many indegenous communities.
PO Nameer, the Dean of the College of Climate Change and Environmental Science, an institution established by Kerala Agricultural University, and a biodiversity researcher, noted, "Before the Wildlife Protection Act came into existence, our indigenous community had been using these animals as a food resource. For the urban community, we buy meat, as we have money. But for the indigenous communities their protein requirements are met through consuming these wild animals."
Nameer says there should be discussions on permitting consumption so that indigenous communities can hunt these animals to meet their own food requirements. "They should not be allowed to sell or commercialise, but only for their consumption. The tribes of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are permitted to do so, and that provision may be extended to indigenous communities here too," he added.
Farmers and those who want to cull these wild boars have been claiming that their numbers have increased considerably. Some years ago, there were few studies saying the numbers have increased but Nameer says that it cannot be proved.
"When the Forest Department first ordered the shooting of wild boars, they substantiated it using a Kerala Forest Research Institute study which said the wild boar population had increased rapidly. But that study was not proper. The method of doing it cannot prove that the population increased. They checked how many boars were in one square-kilometer and multiplied that with the total forest area. But all forest areas are not the perfect habitat for boars. Moreover, the method was wrong and the report was erroneous," Nameer added.
He says that until now there is no scientific data to prove that their population increased. "Boars are the second most troublesome species. A lot of things have to be analysed here. The problem is obviously there. So we should check whether culling is a solution, if yes how many should be done and whether indegenous communities can be given rights for that."
"There are tigers, elephants, peafowls, squirrels, monkeys and many more animals causing trouble to farmers, so after boars will all of them be culled? And let humans alone live here, conquering their habitat," an environmental activist Abraham from Kerala who works in Maharashtra, said.
He pointed that it is we humans who destroyed their habitat through deforestation and finally resulted in man-animal conflicts. "This in a way resulted in a decrease in the population of other animals that prey on wild boars or peafowls. So their population will naturally increase," he added.
Natural disasters as a result of climate change were also cited as a cause of habitat loss. The activists also suggest some alternatives like fences, repellents etc.
But experts say that electric fences and common repellents are not so effective for wild boars.