Kerala Minister P. Prasad wants people to eat wild boars to curb menace, forest minister orders probe

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 14 (ANI): Kerala Minister for Forests and Wildlife Protection A.K. Saseendran reacted to State Minister P. Prasad's statement on allowing people to eat wild boar meat to solve the crop destruction problem by assuring that he will get a detailed report and look into the matter.
"Kerala Agriculture Minister Mr P. Prasad made a statement on the ignorance and delay of the government officers...if the statement has something to do with the forest department, then we will try to get a detailed report of that issue and we will sort it out...I am trying to get a detailed report and after that we will take appropriate action," A.K. Saseendran stated to ANI.
Saseendran's statement follows the remarks of Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad, who said that permitting people to consume wild boar meat could help curb the increasing menace of wild boars damaging farmlands across the State.
The minister made the comment on Saturday while inaugurating a local project implemented by the Paalamel village panchayat in Alapuzha to protect farmlands from wild animal attacks.
"The wild boar menace has reached a point where the animals are attacking people in several areas. My personal opinion is that if people are allowed to eat the boars they kill, the problem would end quickly. But, due to central laws, that is not possible. Wild boars are not an endangered species," the minister said.
During the event, Minister Prasad publicly rebuked forest department officials for alleged negligence, citing a case in which the family of a man killed in a wild boar attack had not received compensation even after five years.
The Kerala Assembly had on October 8 passed the Wildlife Protection (Kerala Amendment) Act, 2025, which aims to address the rising incidents of human-animal conflicts in the State.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a post on the social media platform X on October 9, said that the passing of the Kerala Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill marks a major step towards addressing rising human-animal conflicts and ensuring justice for forest-edge communities.
He said that Kerala has become the first state to pass a Bill amending the Central Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The Kerala Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill, along with the Forest Amendment Bill, marks a major step towards addressing rising human-animal conflicts and ensuring justice for forest-edge communities. (ANI)