‘Revered’ nilgai turns farmers’ enemy

In past three days, about 200 nilgai have been shot dead in Bihar’s Mokama district. The request of eliminating nilgai was cleared by Ministry of Environment and Forest in December last year. The crop-raiding species is found on acres of agricultural fields in riverine areas of the Ganga and Gandak basins. The step has been taken after farmers of almost 12 districts, including Buxar, Bhagalpur and Sasaram, demanded action to ‘neutralize’ the nilgai in the area that were rampaging the fields.

‘Revered’ nilgai turns farmers’ enemy

Background:·       The nilgai is a species of antelope and has been declared ‘vermin’ in 2015 by Bihar’s Board of Wildlife.·       Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC), in June 2015, asked states to send proposals to declare wild animals vermin for specified period in a given area.What is vermin?·       Vermin are pests or nuisance animals, especially those that threaten human society by spreading diseases or destroying crops and livestock.

Provisions in the law:·       If any wild animal poses a danger to human life or property (including standing crops on any land), or is so disabled or diseased as to be beyond recovery, the law allows for it to be hunted.·       Using these provisions, any animal listed in Schedule I-IV can be put in Schedule V for a specific period, declaring it as vermin, allowing its killing.·       Schedule V include animals like the common crow, fruit bats, mice and rats.

About Nilgai: ·       The nilgai or blue bull is the largest Asian antelope and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. ·       Typically, tame, the nilgai may appear timid and cautious if harassed or alarmed. ·       Herbivores, nilgai prefer grasses and herbs, though woody plants are commonly eaten in the dry tropical forests of India.

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Major populations occur in the Terai lowlands in the foothills of the Himalayas (northern India), but the antelope is sparsely found in Nepal and Pakistan and is extinct in Bangladesh. The nilgai is categorised as Least Concern by the IUCN. The nilgai has been associated with Indian culture since the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE). Hindus revere the nilgai as sacred and associate it with the cow, the mother animal in Hinduism, through its name and loosely similar physical features.[Ref: Hindu, Wiki]

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