‘Mercy killing’ of wild animals may be allowed to save crops
killing and euthanasia of wild animals based on the advice of a committee of experts drawn from the wildlife and the veterinary sciences,” said a senior official at the environment ministry.
While euthanasia denotes only the killing of animals that are already terminally ill, mercy killing involves killing animals “for reasons of space, lack of proper centres, resources and personnel,” according to the draft of the policy.
Last year, the environment ministry designated nilgai, wild boars, and rhesus monkeys as “vermin” in three states. This is the classification given to animals like rats and crows that allows for limited periods of culling under the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act.
Mercy killing is common in a variety of places around the world. Bison in Yellowstone National Park in the United States, badgers in the United Kingdom, kangaroos in Australia, and elephants in South Africa are all culled in order to maintain a healthy and safe population size.
“In the western countries culling is done keeping in mind only the scientific management,” said one wildlife conservationist. “In India, apart from scientific management, we also have to keep in mind the socio-cultural aspect.”
In India, the religious sentiments associated with some wild animals make it challenging for the government to support the mercy killing of those species. Lord Ganesha’s association with elephants and the reverence of Hanuman as the monkey-god are cases in which there are no easy answers.
Some wildlife conservationists are also sceptical of mercy killing. “These debates over mercy killing, euthanasia and culling are not meaningful unless they are discussed with reference to our current legislation,” said Belinda Wright, Executive Director at the Wildlife Protection Society of India. “I think the Wildlife Protection Act sets out eminently sensible rules on this issue and any new policies we have should be in accordance with these.”
Mercy killing is just one part of the plan’s larger mission to improve the conservation of wildlife. “We tried to stress on two important aspects of conservation: preservation of genetic diversity and sustainable utilisation of 31 10 13
1 Shimla
10 Define euthanasia and mercy killing, and provide them with a practical, legal system Develop a policy on the management of invasive alien species
Identify suitable alternative homes for species having one or two isolated populations such as the Jerdon’s Courser bird, the Batagur turtle and the Asiatic lion Secure wildlife corridors for the migration of large mammals such as elephants and tigers
Set up “conflict mitigation squads” composed of forest personnel in places where conflict between humans and animals is a problem species and ecosystems,” said JC Kala, chairman of the committee that drafted the plan.
“They have a direct bearing on our scientific advancements and support to millions of rural communities.”
This iteration of the National Wildlife Action Plan is the third since 1983, and it is the first one to discuss taking conservation beyond the boundaries of protected areas into the larger landscapes in which animals live.
“Concepts like ‘tiger landscapes’ and ‘elephant landscapes’ are gradually emerging,” said one of the members of the committee. “Conservation and management of species at the landscape level would help to maintain and enhance genetic exchanges between metapopulations [groups of the same species living in different places].”
As the area of animal habitats shrinks, according to the report, animal populations may need to be moved December 1, 2015
December 1, 2015 February 3, 2016
March 14, 2016
May 24, 2016 for 1 year from notification
for 1 year from notification for 1 year from notification
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
6 months from notification
1 year from notification in order to survive.
“Climate change would render wildlife habitats unsuitable for many plants and animals in the future,” said Kala. “But these species won’t be able to shift to more suitable places because of human settlements in between. Here comes the concept of ‘human-assisted wildlife migration’ and anticipatory planting in which we propose to relocate some species to more suitable places, which could be created to prevent them from going extinct.”
Climate change and human settlements are not the only things threatening animal environments. Invasive alien species are taking a heavy toll on protected areas and their native populations. The problem has become so acute that Indian conservationists are now speaking about a ‘national policy on alien species’ being a new focus for the future.
MERCY KILLING IS COMMON IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD. BISON IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK IN THE US, BADGERS IN THE UK AND ELEPHANTS IN SOUTH AFRICA ARE CULLED TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY POPULATION