The Kerala Legislative Assembly has passed the Wildlife Protection (Kerala Amendment) Bill and the Kerala Forest Amendment Bill, granting sweeping powers to the Chief Wildlife Warden to order the instant shooting of violent wild animals that stray into human settlements or farmlands.
This is the first time in India that a state has sought to amend the Central Wildlife Protection Act to enable swift action against aggressive wildlife — a long-standing demand of farmers and residents in forest-fringe areas. The bills, however, will come into effect only after Presidential assent via the Governor.
Under the new provisions, if a person suffers serious injuries in a wild animal attack, the District Collector or Chief Conservator of Forests can immediately inform the Chief Wildlife Warden, who can then authorize the animal’s shooting without waiting for time-consuming clearances.
The bill also introduces measures to control or relocate overpopulated species such as wild boars and leopards. Importantly, it empowers the state to take such action without prior approval from the Centre. It also proposes to transfer the power to declare animals as vermin—currently held by the central government—to the state government. Once declared vermin, such animals can be legally culled, and their meat consumed without restriction.
Despite Kerala’s repeated appeals to declare wild boars as vermin, the Centre has denied permission. To address the crisis, the state has appointed local self-government heads as honorary wildlife wardens to manage culling operations under existing central norms.
The amendment further proposes shifting bonnet macaques (native monkeys) from Schedule I to Schedule II, allowing for population control and potential vermin classification if needed.
Another significant clause allows the compounding of minor forest offences, meaning that certain cases can be settled in court without imprisonment, providing relief for non-serious offenders.
However, the bill also removes powers long held by forest watchers since 1961, renaming them as Forest Beat Assistants, a move that has sparked protests from forest department staff.
With these historic amendments, Kerala aims to strike a crucial balance between wildlife conservation and human safety, setting a precedent for other states grappling with rising human-wildlife conflicts.
