Centre allows culling of Nilgais in Bihar and Monkeys in Himachal Pradesh
New Delhi: The environment ministry has declared Rhesus Macaque monkeys in Himachal Pradesh to be “vermin” for one year, allowing their culling to control their population during this time. The move comes after the Centre had allowed killing of nilgai in Bihar.
The notification said that the state has reported damage to life, property and agriculture outside forests. The killings of nilgais in Bihar had activists calling it a massacre.
Vermin means wild animals which are believed to be harmful to crops, farm animals, game or which carry diseases.
“Blue bulls and monkeys are creating problems in Bihar and HP. Declaration of vermin is like a population management tool. Vermin is a practice in Africa where they even kill elephants. “As an animal welfare perspective, it will be wrong but if you look at it from ecological management perspective, it’s right,” said Ajay Saxena, program-me manager (forestry) at Centre for Science and Environment.
