Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

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This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content.

2016

SC: Culling of straying nilgais, wild boars allowed

The Times of India, Jun 21 2016

AmitAnand Choudhary  Holding that wild animals cannot be hunted in their habitat, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Centre's notifications allowing culling of nilgai, wild boar and monkey with a caveat that the animals could be eliminated when they venture into human settlements. A bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and A M Khanwilkar, however, agreed to hear petitions filed by animal rights activists challenging the Centre's notifications allowing culling of nilgai and wild boar in Bihar, monkeys in Himachal Pradesh and wild boar in Uttarakhand and posted it for hearing on July 15.

It also directed the Centre to consider grievances of the activists within two weeks and asked them to make a representation before the government. The bench, however, ma de it clear that the process of culling must be done only when animals ventured out of their habitat. “You cannot hunt them in their home,“ it said.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the bench that it was clearly mentioned in the Centre's notifications that animals must not be killed in forest areas. He also raised the question as to why the activists challeng ed the notification several months after these were issued and pleaded them not to interfere in the ongoing culling of these animals in the three states.

The ministry of envi ronment and forest had on December 1 last year issued notification declaring nilgai and wild boar as vermin in Bihar and granted permission for their culling for one year. On February 2, it allowed culling of wild boar in Uttrakhand.

Once declared vermin, an animal is deprived of the protection under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Challenging the Constitutional validity of Section 62 of the Act, which empowers the Centre to declare a protected animal as vermin, petitioners contended that the provision is illegal as it conferred excessive and arbitrary powers on the government to permit “mindless“ slaughter of protected animals without holding any inquiry .