No killing: MP govt to capture Nilgais through ‘trial-and-error’ method

The Madhya Pradesh government is planning to launch a pilot project aimed at capturing Nilgais in the forested areas of Chhattarpur, Shajapur and Morena districts through a “trial-and-error” method, instead of culling them.

Updated on: Jun 12, 2016, 08:01:21 IST

Hindustan Times | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

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The Madhya Pradesh government is planning to launch a pilot project aimed at capturing Nilgais in the forested areas of Chhattarpur, Shajapur and Morena districts through a “trial-and-error” method, instead of culling them.

The state wildlife department will also put out advertisements aimed at enlisting the help of interested people and organisations to capture the animals, so they can be shifted to protected zones.

According to wildlife officials, Nilgais have been damaging crops in many parts of the state – including Bhind, Morena, Chhattarpur, Rewa, Satna, Shajapur and Agar districts. The problem came to a head in 2015, when farmers from Neemuch district launched a hunger strike to demand adequate compensation from the state government.

Additional principal chief conservator of Forests (APCCF) RP Singh told HT that the state government has no plans to cull Nilgais. He, however, admitted that capturing the animals could be difficult as forest officials don’t even know the dosage of tranquillers required to be administered.

Explaining the reason for the “trial-and-error” method, Singh said: “Nilgais are very sturdy and heavy, but fast. There are few who know how to successfully catch these animals without causing them harm. Moreover, when we chase Nilgais, they end up running very fast and breaking a limb or two – and that’s equivalent to death for a wild animal.”

The issue of culling wild beasts in human-animal conflict areas hit the headlines recently, when women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi lashed out at Union environment Prakash Javadekar on Thursday over his “lust for killing animals”.

The Nilgai, Asia’s largest antelope, is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. Placed in the ‘Least Concern’ category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it is listed under Schedule IV of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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