Wayanad and Idukki are the two districts in Kerala with the highest incidence of wild animal attacks. In Wayanad alone, eight people have been killed in tiger attacks in the last ten years. Most recently, a tribal woman, the wife of a temporary watcher of the forest department was mauled to death by the predator. She was picking coffee beans near Priyadarshini Estate in Pancharakolli when the lurking tiger attacked her.

During every such incident, protestors including locals will block the road with the dead body demanding answers from the government. It is a futile exercise with a short life span. Neither the government nor the forest department have been able to solve the crisis. Locals in wildlife attack-prone areas will have to survive scary nights with no assurance of what will become of themselves. Students who need to commute through these roads engulfed by the thick forests of Wayanad and similar areas are risking their lives every day.

There is no law in the country to kill wild animals trespassing into human habitats. They can only be caught using traps or cages. Only people who have gone through the severity of wild animal attacks know what it is in reality. In the last ten years, sixty lives have been lost in Wayanad due to wild animal attacks. Of these, 51 were killed by wild elephants. Apart from human lives, many houses and vehicles have been destroyed in wild elephant attacks. There is also damage to crops on hectares of land.

According to a few experts, the wild animal count has been surging in the recent past, more than what the forest could accommodate. It is for this reason that they are venturing into nearby human habitats. No objective study has been conducted to confirm this yet. Only temporary measures are currently being taken after each disaster. This is done with the meek belief that wild animals would not come wanting for human lives again.

It was to end such precarious solutions that the cabinet decided to seek central government permission to kill wild animals that pose a threat to human life and property, subject to conditions. Currently, permission is only granted to kill wild boars that enter the country. The secretaries of the respective local bodies allow the killing of wild boars with conditions.

However, if the killed boar is cooked to make a sumptuous dish, the culprit will go behind bars. After killing, the wild animal should be doused in kerosene and burned. The state government has asked for permission from the central government to kill monkeys, and porcupines in a similar manner to the boars.

If any animal is declared vermin, it can be killed without following the provisions of the law. The power to declare it as vermin is vested in the Central Government under Section 62 of the Wildlife Protection Act. A special team from Kerala should convince the Central Government, with the support of proper death figures and property losses.

There is a law that allows the Chief Wildlife Warden to permit to killing of animals that pose a threat to humans. But a report from the District Magistrate should be received stating that the wild animal is in a populated area and is dangerous. It is common knowledge that a wild animal would be on the move and will not station at a particular location for long. These illogical notions from law should be replaced at the earliest.