Mumbai: Forest minister Ganesh Naik on Wednesday told the Legislative Assembly that the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, does not provide for deliberately releasing domestic animals into the habitat of wild animals and providing them with food. Naik said there is no scientific or legal basis that simply providing artificial food will completely stop human-wildlife conflict. Naik said there are provisions regarding the protection, management and habitat conservation of wild animals under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Naik was replying to questions raised by MLA Shirish Kumar Naik. In Dec 2205, Naik had announced a plan to address the rise in leopard attacks on humans in the state: releasing goats into forests to prevent the animals from entering human settlements in search of prey. Naik had made the statement during a calling attention motion on leopard attacks, which was discussed at the legislature’s Winter Session in Nagpur. Shirish Kumar Naik had asked if forest department officials have been ordered to release 1 crore goats and sheep in leopard-dominated areas in the state to prevent leopards from entering human settlements and if a scheme of buying goats and sheep and releasing them into the forest is permanently viable. “Section 9 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 prohibits hunting of scheduled wild animals. Also, artificial interference with the natural behavior of wild animals is not in keeping with the basic principles..The behavior of wild animals depends on many factors. Habitat disturbance, prey availability, human interference, etc. There is no scientific or legal basis that simply providing artificial food will completely stop human-wildlife conflict,” Ganesh Naik said. “Under Section 11, if there is a serious threat to human life, capture/relocation may be ordered by the competent authorities. Capturing leopards through trained teams and releasing them into their natural habitats as appropriate. Habitat improvement, natural prey enhancement. Public awareness, emergency response teams..Procedures for providing immediate financial assistance to victims, etc. All the above measures are implemented within the framework of the law and in accordance with the guidelines of the central govt,” Ganesh Naik said in his written reply.“If four people are killed in leopard attacks, the state govt has to pay Rs 1 crore in compensation. So, instead of paying compensation after deaths, I told officials to release goats worth Rs 1 crore into the forest so that leopards do not venture into human habitats,” Naik said.
