Panaji, July 5 Wild boars may soon be culled in Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Monday, adding that his government is in the process of expediting the procedure to declare the species as vermin.
"We are in the process of declaring wild boar as vermin. We are expediting the process. It is creating a lot of problems for people," Sawant told reporters at the state secretariat.
Vermins are wild animals that are believed to be harmful to crops, farm animals or game, or which carry disease.
Rising urbanisation has led to increased conflicts between wild animals and humans in several parts of the state, especially near the foothills of the Western Ghat range.
In 2016, the state government had written to the National Wildlife Board to declare wild boars as vermin on account of the damage they caused to agriculture and horticulture crops.
Wild boars are common in the hinterland of the coastal state, a large part of which flanks the Western Ghats. Wild boar meat, though contraband, is commonly served in homes and eateries flanking the forest areas.
In February this year, a 50-year-old cowherd was injured after a wild boar attacked him in Tuem village in North Goa.
On Monday, Sawant chaired a meeting with the forest department officials, in which a proposal to expedite the process of declaring wild boars as vermin was also discussed.
"There is human vs animal conflict in some talukas. The government is making efforts to resolve the issue," Sawant said.
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