Kerala calls for national consensus on law regarding human-animal conflict

The Kerala government has sought a national level consensus on bringing a legislation to deal with human-animal conflicts, which have been reported across the country.

This comes in the wake of increase in cases of man-animal conflict in the state over the past few months.

One such case involved a rogue elephant, notorious for breaking into ration shops to steal rice, which earned him the moniker 'Arikomban', and causing damage to human settlements in some areas of Idukki district in Kerala.

The tusker was tranquilised on Saturday after months of uncertainty and confusion and was translocated to deep forest inside Periyar Tiger Reserve.

Speaking to PTI about the operation, state Forest Minister A K Saseendran said the man-animal conflict is not new to the country and we need a national consensus to deal with the issue.

"The man-animal conflict is a rising issue in the country and we need to develop a consensus at national level to formulate a law to deal with such conflicts," Saseendran said.

He also stressed on the importance of protecting both the wildlife and the humans.

"I always ask the animal protection groups and other NGOs who raise their voice for the protection of wildlife to provide their suggestions to resolve the man-animal conflict," he said.