New Delhi : Two union ministers Maneka Gandhi and Prakash Javadekar have clashed on the issue of culling of animals. The minister for women and child development, Maneka Gandhi, is a well-known animal rights activist and has slammed the environment ministry for this culling of animals arguing that she cannot understand this lust for killing animals.
Javadekar has shot back with a statement that this was “scientific management” of animal population and the permissions for killing animals designated as ‘vermin’ were restricted to particular areas and time period.
A firm believer in the principle that in the man-animal conflict, it is the man who should get the preferential treatment, Javadekar added that this was being done at the request of the states to protect crops. “As per the existing law when farmers face a lot of problems and their crops are completely damaged and when a state government sends a proposal, only then we allow (culling). The grant of approval to the state government’s proposal is for a particular area and time period for scientific management. It is not a programme of the central government. The law is such,” he said.
But Maneka cried foul at the recent killing of ‘nilgai’ (blue bulls) in Bihar, which she termed as “biggest ever massacre” and charged that the Union Environment Ministry “is writing to every state government, allowing them to provide a list of animals that can be killed, so that the Centre can give permission.
“This is happening for the first time. I don’t understand this lust for killing of animals,” said Maneka who has also been the environment minister in the past. She also said that 53 wild boars have been killed in drought-hit Chandrapur in Maharashtra and the Environment Ministry has allowed killing of 50 more, even when the state wildlife department does not want that.
The environment ministry has also issued a notification declaring that Rhesus Ma-caque monkey in Himachal Pradesh is designated as a “vermin” for a period of one year. The districts in which this notification would be applicable are Chamba, Kangra, Una, Bilaspur, Shimla, Sirmour, Kullu, Hamirpur, Solan and Mandi. Vermin means wild animals which are believed to be harmful to crops, farm animals, game or which carry diseases.
The Centre has reportedly allowed the killing of ‘nilgai’ in Bihar, elephants in West Bengal, monkeys in Himachal Pradesh, peacocks in Goa and wild boars in Chandrapur.
