UDUMALPET: Motorists who feed or cause disturbance to wild animals standing on the roadside near forest fringes will be fined Rs 500 in Tirupur district. Tirupur district forest officer (DFO) A. Periyasamy told DC that tourists who travel to Munnar through the Amaravathy forest area feed the monkeys, spotted deer and boar with bananas, spicy masala chips and other food items.
Some tourists tend to throw stones on the animals. Lured by the taste of the food, the wild animals move to the roadside, leading to man-animal conflicts. So, the forest staff will move around in jeeps on the tourist routes and will slap a fine of Rs 500 on motorists who harm or feed the animals
“Feeding animals is not a good thing. Animals get addicted to the food fed by humans and come out of the forest, which will result in man-animal conflicts. The are high chances of the animals contracting diseases. The food with salt, masala and taste enhancers may cause disease to animals and it may spread to other animals too,” the DFO explained.
Anti-poaching watchers have been deployed to monitor the activities of tourists and motorists. “We have warned more than 50 motorists within a week. If this continues we have no choice but to impose a fine amount of '500,” the DFO said.
