The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, stands as a significant Indian legislation that provides a legal framework for protecting various species of wild animals and plants. It manages their habitats while regulating and controlling the trade in wildlife and their by-products. The Act categorizes plants and animals into schedules, implying different protection levels and government monitoring.
The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, currently has six schedules varying protection degrees to animals and plants. Some examples of animals receiving supreme protection under this Act include the Himalayan Brown Bear, Indian Elephant, Golden Geckos, and Hornbills, among others. This Act also provides security to animals scheduled under Schedule III and IV, like Barking Deer, Falcons, Kingfisher, and Tortoise. However, penalties for offenses related to them are comparably lower.
Animals that can be hunted, like Common Crow, Mice, Rats, Fruit Bats, among others, are included in Schedule V. Simultaneously, the cultivation and planting of certain plants, trees, and crops mentioned in Schedule VI are banned.
Understanding Vermin
Vermins are essentially problematic or nuisance animals threatening humans, crops, livestock, or property. The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 categorizes species deemed as Vermin under Schedule V. These species include common crows, fruit bats, rats, and mice, which can be freely hunted.
The central government can declare any wild animal as vermin under Section 62 of the Wildlife Protection Act. However, wild animal species placed in Schedule I and II cannot be declared as vermin. An animal can acquire the status of vermin for a specified area and duration.
The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021: A Look at Potential Changes
Introduced in Parliament in December 2021, the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill aims to amend the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The primary aim of the amendment is to align the Act with changing circumstances and provide appropriate solutions concerning the culling of vermin.
The Amendment Bill proposes reducing the number of schedules from six to four. It seeks to remove Schedule V entirely, which currently includes vermin species. Additionally, it introduces a new schedule for specimens listed in the Appendices under CITES (scheduled specimens). The Amendment Bill empowers the Central government to declare any species as vermin directly, making the process easier. This change could potentially impact several species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects.
The Need for the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021
Increasing human-wildlife conflicts threaten both animals and people. Incidents of crop or livestock damage result from these conflicts, significantly impacting agricultural sectors. As such, this proposed Bill serves as a step towards managing and mitigating these issues.
Understanding Vermin & Ecological Imbalance
The concept of vermin within the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, is a colonial legacy with minimal scientific foundation. Certain animals, deemed potential food competitors with humans, were categorized as vermin and targeted for eradication. However, this blanket permission to eradicate vermin populations has potential adverse ecological impacts.
Significant culling can disrupt the local food chain and endanger non-targeted species. Non-lethal methods of managing human-wildlife conflicts have often proven more effective than mass culling, which does not address the core issue: increasing human-wildlife conflicts due to habitat destruction and encroachment. Encroaching developmental projects, industrialization, and agricultural expansion have drastically reduced forest spaces, pushing wild animals closer to human settlements.
Way Forward
Simply declaring an animal as ‘vermin’ is not a sustainable or effective solution for mitigating increasing human-wildlife conflicts. There is an urgent need to maintain a database documenting crop damage extent and conducting scientific surveys on problematic animals and conflict patterns. Unscientific and abrupt decisions made without data may significantly impact the ecosystem and biodiversity.
