Karnataka forest department to address cattle grazing in MM Hills with CSR funds
As a pilot project, 10 families residing around MM Hills have been selected, and given hybrid cattle breeds like Jersey and Holstein Friesian for dairy activities. They have also been made to sign an undertaking that they will not take their cattle for grazing inside forests, and if found doing so, action will be initiated against them under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the Forest Act. The families selected worked as labourers for Tamil Nadu cattle owners, who would take cattle for grazing inside the forest, said former deputy conservator of forests, MM Hills, G Santosh Kumar, who was posted in MM Hills when the project started. The pilot project has been a success so far. Other farmers are also showing interest, after seeing the chosen families earn around Rs 600 daily by selling milk and fodder.
'We are also working to stop the entire chain of breeding and rearing cattle in and around Karnataka forests and selling them at Erode cattle fair in Tamil Nadu and to Kerala's beef market. We are also working with farmer associations to adopt this proposal, where fodder is also being provided under the CSR initiative. Talks are under way with many other corporate firms to divert CSR funds to MM Hills,' a forest official said.
The issue of cattle grazing inside MM Hills became a matter of concern after the recent death of a tigress and her four cubs due to poisoning.
While the pilot was being done on the ground for a while, it was formally announced on July 16. It has been initiated at a time when the directives of Forest Minister Eshwar B Khandre to clear all cattle pens from inside the forest are yet to be fully implemented on the ground.
Deputy Conservator of Forests, MM Hills, B Bhaskar said talks are on with various milk unions in Karnataka to create a milk route to help these farmers. The recent veterinary department survey showed that there are over 30,000 cattle and close to 1,500 families that work as labourers to Tamil Nadu cattle owners in and around MM Hills in Hannur taluk.
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'If other zoos have a genetic line [of fishing cats] which promises more [genetic] diversity upon breeding of introduced individuals, or if the genetics of fishing cats have been studied in the wild and genetically poor populations have been identified, then such transfers [to private entities like Vantara] make sense from a managerial perspective which aims to bridge ex-situ and in-situ conservation,' Adhya, co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project, said. But unless Vantara has such knowledge of fishing cat genetics already available, it would be 'wrong' from a species perspective to send fishing cats there because it is a new private entity, Adhya remarked. In 2023-24, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park transferred several animals to Vantara: a snow leopard, a red panda, six golden pheasants, six silver pheasants and six Lady Amhersts's pheasants. Meanwhile, the data points to several other transfers between zoos. In 2023-24, as per its annual report, Alipore Zoo transferred 27 animals to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park (two Indian crested porcupines, eight blue-and-gold macaws, five barking deer, two Indian rock pythons, two Burmese pythons, two reticulated pythons and four water monitor lizards) in two separate installments (in December 2023 and March 2024). It also transferred six animals (two Indian crested porcupines and four blue-and-gold macaws) to Junglemahal Zoological Park in Jhargram, West Bengal. In 2023-24, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park made 135 transfers, while the Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park made 272 transfers. Name of Zoo Disposals (Transfers to other zoos) 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Alipore Zoo - 54 23 Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park 51 135 65 Bardhaman Zoological Park 6 93 0 Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park 15 272 37 Harinalaya At Eco Park 8 13 6 Rasikbeel Mini Zoo 20 - 0 Surulia Mini Zoo 0 0 0 North Bengal Wild Animals Park 1 35 - Table: 'Disposals' or transfers to other zoos for three years, from CZA's annual inventory reports. Blank spaces indicate years for which data is not available for that year. According to the researcher who studies illegal wildlife trade, a lot of transfers of wild animals are occurring between zoos. Why are these transfers being made, the researcher asked. 'Zoos need to provide data on the rationale behind such transfers and make them available in the public domain,' the researcher said. The state zoo authority does not have any say in such transfers as they are internal decisions taken between zoos, chief secretary Panth told The Wire. Numbers that don't tally Meanwhile, the inventory report for the Alipore zoo for the year 2023-24 – also published by the same statutory body, the CZA – says that the Alipore zoo 'disposed' of a total of 54 animals that year. However, transfers to Vantara, the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and Junglemahal Zoological Park alone amount to a total of 84 'disposals', per another CZA document – its annual report for the same year. The inventory report for the year also does not mention the 'disposal' of any marsh crocodiles, Indian rock pythons, Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons or water monitor lizards from the Alipore zoo at all – whereas its annual report for the year mentions the transfer of two marsh crocodiles, nine Indian rock pythons and three water monitor lizards to Vantara; two Indian rock pythons, two Burmese pythons, two reticulated pythons and four water monitor lizards to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park as mentioned above. Ironically, the inventory report claims that Alipore zoo only had eight Indian rock pythons at the opening of the year, and the same number at the close of the year, with no acquisitions or disposals in between. Similarly, the inventory report only specifies the 'disposal' of eight blue-and-gold macaws (while the annual report claims that a total of 12 such birds were transferred from Alipore zoo to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and Junglemahal Zoological Park). In the case of the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park too, the inventory and zoo annual reports for the same year give completely different figures for the same categories. The inventory report lists 464 animals as the opening stock for the year 2023-24, whereas the annual report quotes 210; 40 acquisitions in the inventory versus 21 in the annual report; 135 disposals in the inventory versus 21 in the annual report; and a closing stock of 426 in the inventory versus 220 in the annual report for the year. Clearly, the numbers do not tally. This discrepancy in numbers also raises several questions, including the reliability of the CZA data. How many animals were really transferred to other zoological parks including Vantara and the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and other zoos? On what basis were these transfers made? If animals are going missing in hundreds from logs overnight, why should the call to transfer animals between zoos remain an internal decision and not one governed by the government? Data is key, ecologists say. Correct, verifiable data on animal transfers and why certain transfers were made should ideally be placed in the public domain, the wildlife trade researcher told The Wire. Zoos must also ensure that they conduct post-mortems for all animals that die on the premises and make available that data as well for the public, the researcher added. If animals breed successfully in zoos, and space and resources become a constraint, some can be reintroduced back into the wild – which is ultimately what captive breeding programmes aim to do. According to a study by Adhya and other scientists, captive-bred fishing cats can be re-introduced in the wild this way. The study, published in 2024, identified 21 possible reintroduction zones for captive-bred fishing cats in West Bengal, including spots in the Sundarbans, a mangrove ecosystem in the state. Thus, captive-bred fishing cats – once acclimatised in 'soft release centers' within designated habitats marked for their release – can be repatriated to the wild instead of being transferred to other zoos, Adhya remarked. But most importantly, priority should be given to protect the remaining wild habitats of species and authorities should only consider captive breeding programs as a supplementary tool, Adhya commented. In the case of fishing cats for instance, without adequate protection of wetlands which are the most critically threatened ecosystems on the planet, 'captive breeding programs are a farce on the face of the Earth,' she added. With inputs from Aparna Bhattacharya.
