Monkey killing sparks row in Himachal Pradesh

After the Himachal Pradesh high court issued notices to the Centre and the state government for allowing reckless killing of monkeys and wild boars in Himachal, a tug of war has started between animal lovers and farmers.

On a petition filed by People for Animals, against the government order the HC last week sought response of the state and the centre on the matter within a week.

Against the decision of the state government to allow farmers to kill wild animals, the Himachal Pradesh HC on Monday directed the state and central governments to file their reply within a week.

The court passed the order on the petition questioning the state government’s notification allowing the culling of wild animals. The petitioner termed the decision of the state as irrational and against the mandate of the wildlife protection act, 1972.

In its petition, the NGO stated that the state had allowed the wanton killing of wild animals, specifically wild boar, blue bull and monkeys, prompting hundreds of farmers to apply for permit from the wildlife authorities to kill the animals.

The petitioner alleged that more then 3,000 permits had been issued within a fortnight after the release of this notification. The NGO challenged the action of the state on the ground that Section 11 of the act seeks to balance the protection of wildlife with the interest of the society when there was danger to human life or property, including standing crops.
Objecting to the opposition mounted by the animal right activists, another NGO,  the People’s Action Group (PAG), observed in Shimla on Monday that those opposing killing of monkeys were unaware of the practical problems being faced by farmers all over the state and were resorting to pressure politics to deter farmers in their mission. It said, “it was easy for such organisations to talk about animal welfare sitting in air-conditioned rooms but they did not understand the plight of the farmers.”