Mass culling of wild boars begins in Kerala

Close to 50 crop-raiding animals gunned down by sharpshooters so far

Gun shots are echoing in the silence of night on the forest fringes of Kerala as the Forest Department has launched a culling campaign to eliminate the crop-raiding wild boar population. Close to 50 animals were gunned down by sharpshooters engaged by the department, as it was flooded with complaints of crop loss caused by these animals. The programme is to eliminate the populations, which have established themselves outside the forest areas and places where there are no natural predators for the species. Those located inside the forests are spared from culling, explained Forest officials. Each successful kill would earn the shooter a remuneration of ₹1,000. Members of rifle clubs and farmers with licenced guns are joining the drive. A few trigger-happy gunners from neighbouring States have volunteered for the programme. However, their service has not been used, they said.