Peacock, the national bird of India, may soon be termed a vermin and culled ruthlessly in Goa. Goa’s Agriculture Minister Ramesh Tawadkar said that peacock, like monkeys and wild boars, causes severe damage to crops and “should be declared a vermin” and culled periodically. Peacock is India’s national bird and is a protected species under the Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

During last month’s winter session of the Goa legislative assembly, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had assured that wild boars, monkeys and other wild animals who disrupt agricultural and horticultural activity and destroy crops would be classified as vermin soon. Rapid growth of urban areas and shrinking forest cover in Goa have left decreasing space for wild life, which often encroaches upon human habitat.

Did You Know???

• Recently the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has declared Wild Pig (sus scrofa) as vermin in Uttarakhand for a year.
• This decision will allow state forest authorities and people to carry out an extermination (hunting/poaching) of wild pigs outside the reserve forest on a large scale.
• To do so, they will no longer require permission from the forest or wildlife officials and thus their actions cannot attract penal provisions of the WPA.

Vermin means wild mammals and birds which are harmful to crops, farm animals or which carry disease.