June,20,2016:

Animal Rights Activists terms notifications declaring wild animals 'Vermin' as arbitrary

Supreme Court has today refused to stay a recent Govt. notification which allowed culling of Nilgais, Wild Boars in Bihar and Uttarakhand and monkeys in Himachal Pradesh.

It was pleaded that culling wild animals after declaring them 'vermin' is not the permanent solution to human-animal conflict and rather sterilising them would be a better idea.

However, the Apex Court Bench headed of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel ordered that the matter would now be taken up for hearing on the 15th of July.

Court ruled that the activists can meanwhile approach the Central Government and express their concerns.

Senior Advocates Anand Grover had requested the court to intervene on a plea that the Centre Govt. do not have power to take such decisions.

Union Minister Maneka Gandhi a Wildlife activists and other groups had severely criticised the Government for allowing such a killing.

States like Maharashtra and Goa have also submitted complaints against peacocks which is India’s national bird and also West Bengal against elephant.

The Union Environment Ministry has since 2015 accepted the requests from States of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Bihar to legally declare wild boar, rhesus macaque, and nilgai as 'vermin' outside forests and other protected areas.

This means that these animals can be killed without fear of the jail terms and fines which hunting these animals typically invite.

Wildlife laws in India consider hunted wildlife as the ‘Government Property.’

What is the Law on the subject

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Section 62 provides that the States can send a list of such wild animals to the Centre Govt. to declare them 'vermin' for selective killing.

The Central Government to consider the request and may by notification, declare any wild animal other than those specified in Schedule I and part 11 of Schedule H of the Act to be vermin in a area for a given period of time.

As long as the Central Govt. notification remains issued and applicable such wild animal shall be included in Schedule V of the law, which means that they are deprived of any protection under that Law.

Read Laws @ LatestLaws.in-

Wild Life (Protection) Act,1972

Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act,2006

Wildlife (Protection) Rules,1995

Picture Source :