Kovai farmers’ dilemma: How to pig-proof their farms

COIMBATORE: Though crop damage caused by elephants is extensive, their hazard mostly remains seasonal as against the distressing loss caused to farmers throughout the year by wild boars and peacocks.

To tackle the menace of wild boars, a committee formed by the state government has been holding continuous discussions involving a mix of experts, farmer’s representatives and forest department officials to address the issue with scientific solutions.

“So far, the State level expert committee has had 3 rounds of meetings to resolve this issue. Many recommendations were discussed to address the issue of wild boars, but nothing was finalised. The wild boar menace is prevalent in around 8 districts across the State. Besides the Western Ghats, they’re a problem in some southern districts like Thanjavur and Tiruvarur too,” said Srinivas R Reddy, Chief Wildlife Warden, who heads the committee.

Apart from destroying crops, wild boars also attack human beings in Coimbatore. “There are at least one or two cases of death and injury caused every year by wild boars as they run into two-wheelers, while they cross roads at night,” said N Jayaraj, District Forest Officer (DFO), Coimbatore Forest Division.

Last month, members of the committee visited Palakkad and Ottapalam in Kerala to study the techniques adopted by the Kerala government in addressing the problem.

The neighbouring state has permitted culling of crop-raiding wild boars through shooters. It has been one of the long-standing demands of farmers in Coimbatore and other Western districts to allow the culling of wild boars.

However, that’s not possible with peacocks, our national bird, and the only solution – drive them away with scary sounds. “Though the committee’s focus is only on wild boars, the menace of peacocks that raids farms even at the stage of sowing would be considered along with other problems. A list of scientific solutions such as ultra-sound systems to scare them away implemented in other states can be studied for recommendation,” the DFO added.

Perhaps, unable to cope with the challenge, some farmers resort to extreme steps like placing avuttukai (country bombs) to kill wild boars, which however turn death traps for elephants. “Country bombs are never placed targeting elephants as it’s one animal. Last year, one elephant was killed after it bit into a country bomb in Coimbatore,” the DFO said.

Meanwhile, wildlife activists have suggested conducting detailed studies to know the impact of wild boar menace.

“Also, compensation packages should be enhanced for farmers who have had crop-loss due to this. Any step against wild boars could be taken, only if there is some data on the impact and extent of damage caused by them to crops. Even the Kerala model of culling wild boars without any scientific data is wrong as they are natural prey for some predator animals like leopard and tigers,” said K Mohanraj, a wildlife activist from Coimbatore.

“Many farmers have been demanding for shooting the wild boars to control their population. But killing them alone may not resolve the problem completely. Even peacocks have turned into a bigger headache for farmers in this region,” lamented S Palanisamy, president, TN Farmers Association.