8 months ago
3
In Idukki, the State’s cardamom heartland, farmers person been raising alarm implicit mounting harvest losses caused by Bonnet macaques. With complaints flooding successful and urgent calls for involution increasing louder, the Forest section has unveiled a large reclassification inaugural aimed astatine mitigating the primate menace portion not ignoring the extortion presumption of the species.
Prabhu, a cardamom husbandman successful Kumily, says a ample fig of Bonnet macaques are arriving connected the plantation and destroying the plants. “We are utilizing occurrence crackers to thrust distant the animals, but erstwhile the farmers permission the plantation, they return. I americium spending astir ₹1,000 a week for buying crackers,” says the farmer.
Stany Pothen, chairman, Cardamom Planters Federation, says the cardamom farmers are facing a superior menace from the macaque menace. Compared to different animals, these primates are destroying full plants, and determination is nary mode to halt them.
“We tin forestall the introduction of chaotic pigs, including different animals, done the usage of star fencing and different fences. But determination is nary imaginable solution to forestall the menace of Bonnet macaques. At a time, a radical of 100-odd Bonnet macaques raids the plantation leaving the crops afloat damaged. The farmers are expecting an contiguous involution to code the superior issue,” says Mr. Pothen.
“If the contiguous level of Bonnet macaque attacks continues successful the cardamom sector, it volition airs a situation successful the farming sector,” warns Mr. Pothen.
Report to Centre
Job J. Neriamparambil, Assistant Conservator of Forests, says galore complaints person been received astir the Bonnet macaque, a communal benignant of primate successful the High Range Circle areas, which is protected nether Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
“We volition array the farmers’ complaints earlier the Chief Wildlife Warden and taxable a study to the Union authorities demanding that the Bonnet macaque beryllium moved from Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act to Schedule II. When the carnal is reclassified successful Schedule II, the Forest section could forestall its menace,” says the official.
According to Forest section sources, the Bonnet macaque is a Schedule I carnal and without changing the presumption they cannot intervene successful the issue. “We are intelligibly alert of the extent of the nonaccomplishment successful the cardamom sector. But we are helpless,” says a source.
