The Kerala government on Saturday approved a draft bill to amend the Wildlife Protection Act with the objective of reducing the increasing human-animal conflicts in the state.
A special cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, gave a nod to the draft legislation that empowers the Chief Wildlife Warden to order the immediate killing of any wild animal that enters an inhabited area and attacks and injures a person, official sources said.
This is the first time that a state has brought such an amendment to the central law, a CMO statement said.
"The draft of the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025 has been approved by the Cabinet. The bill seeks to amend the central Wildlife (Protection) Act. This is the first time in India that a state is bringing such an amendment to a central law," it said.
State Forest Minister A K Saseendran later said the provisions in the Bill help to avoid impractical and time-consuming procedures in the central law and in the standard operating procedures issued by the union government.
However, the minister said that there is no legal obstacle to protecting those wildlife species that need to be protected, as per the draft bill.
If someone is seriously injured in a wildlife attack and the matter is reported to the chief wildlife warden, he can take necessary action, including killing the wild animal, without wasting time on other procedures, the minister said, quoting the provisions in the draft bill.
At present, central law has the authority to declare any wild animal in Schedule II as a vermin if its numbers are found to have increased uncontrollably, Saseendran said.
A provision has been added to the present draft bill to give this authority to the state government, he explained.
Once declared as a vermin, anyone can kill that particular wild animal in any way they want, Saseendran further explained the provisions of the draft bill.
There is no obstacle to eating its meat as well, the minister added.
The Kerala cabinet cleared the draft bill to amend the Wildlife (Protection) Act months after CM Vijayan called for amending the central law citing challenges faced by the state government in dealing with instances of wild animals encroaching into human habitats.
He had said that even in emergency situations, the central laws pose a major obstacle to dealing with encroaching wild animals.
The CM had also said that the state government places paramount importance on safeguarding both human lives and preventing conflicts with wildlife.
The state has been witnessing increasing instances of human-animal conflicts in recent days.
The bill also assumes political significance in view of upcoming local body and Assembly elections as a permanent solution to address the menace that has been a long-pending demand of high range people in the state.
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