E-Paper
Forest dept to sterilise 47 leopards from 5 conflict areas in Junnar
Forest department plans to sterilise 47 leopards, 11 males and 36 females, from five conflict areas in Junnar tehsil
PUNE The forest department plans to sterilize 47 leopards in 5 conflict areas in Junnar tehsil. This is the first of its kind of project and includes 11 males and 36 females, said officials.
Currently, the project is under consideration with the central government, and the department has demanded in-principle approval to undertake the project.
Amol Satpute, deputy conservator of forest, said, “The draft for leopard sterilization is under consideration with the central ministry. In this draft we have proposed to sterilize 47 leopards from five conflict areas including Otur, Jambut, Shirur, Bori and Lakhangaon, where repeated incidents of leopard attacks occurred.”
“The leopards will be captured in this area for the pilot project, and we have proposed laparoscopic tubectomy for female and laparoscopic vasectomy methods for male leopards. The whole operation will be carried out under supervision of experts along with the guidance of Wildlife Institute of India,’’ he said.
We have requested the ministry to consider this proposal and grant an in-principle approval so that detailed proposal under section 12 (bb) of wildlife protection act 1972 shall be prepared and sent to the ministry at earliest, added Satpute.
The human-leopard conflict is significantly increasing in Maharashtra, and 99 deaths were recorded till March 2024. In Junnar, five people have died in leopard attacks since Marchand several others were injured in such incidents.
Junnar Forest department prepared a draft in December 2023 and submitted it to the forest headquarters in Nagpur. The head office, after studying the draft, has suggested some changes in the draft which includes case studies and details of area etc. and asked the Junnar forest department to re-submit the draft in March 2024. The draft after several changes has been re-submitted to forest headquarters in June 2024. The proposal was then sent to the Additional Director General (wildlife), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change (MOEFCC) in July 2024.
Recently, on August 31, Amol Kolhe, Member of Parliament from Shirur constituency also wrote to the MOEFCC to look into this matter and issue the necessary directives for the in-principle approval so that a detailed plan will be prepared.
