The Kerala High Court recently granted permission to 12 farmers including a Catholic nun from the Congregation of Mother of Carmel (CMC) in the Kozhikode area (Kerala) to cull crop-raiding wild boars.
Sr. Jophy Jose, the superior of the CMC convent in Muthukad will receive a hard copy of the order on Monday and will begin work on the four-acre agricultural area surrounding the convent.
“I am not a gun owner with a license or a trained shooter. “I went to court with other farmers with the sole purpose of putting a stop to this threat that has been sabotaging our efforts for years,” says Sr. Jophy. She aims to enlist the help of other villagers with firearms licenses to combat the threat.
Wild boars have been attacking the convent's crops, including nutmeg, tapioca, and yams, according to the nun, who comes from an agrarian family near Iritty in Kannur district. “Tapioca plants were damaged in wide regions during the recent attacks.
It was difficult to keep quiet because we had worked so hard to develop the plants and water them on a daily basis,” she continues.
Sr. Jophy intends to temporarily use other culling options in the absence of a gun license. “According to the court order, farmers who obtain court approval can use any kind of culling to eliminate the threat. “I have no qualms about getting a firearms license and exercising my right to save the field in the future,” she says.
The 12 farmers, including a Wayanad local, recently obtained a court order for hunting wild boars with the help of ‘We Farm,' a settler farmers' organization in Kozhikode district. In the Kozhikode district, twenty-two settler farmers will now be authorized to slaughter wild boars that wander into their farms.
