Almost a dozen illegal boar hunters were apprehended at Vekhandwadi village near the Masai Plateau, a nature reserve in western India. Authorities moved quickly to put a stop to the illicit event and confiscated the meat and the gang's hunting equipment.
Anil Mohite, range forest officer for the Panhala forest range, told the Times of India, "Eleven suspects were caught red-handed while they were butchering the wild boar which they hunted for consuming meat."
Under the terms of India's Wildlife Protection Act (1972), as explained by Nature Safari India, hunting wild animals is illegal. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a known animal lover, signed the act into law to curb excessive hunting and habitat destruction in post-independence India. Majestic creatures such as the Bengal tiger were almost hunted to extinction in that period, and they continue to face severe threats to their survival today.
Conversely, wild boars are hardly facing extinction. They're considered an invasive species in many parts of the world. In the United States, hunting and killing wild boars is not only tolerated; it's actively encouraged, per the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
However, in their native habitats, including India, wild boars play a role in the ecosystem, as Greenverz explained. They are useful for seed dispersal in their fur and droppings. Wild boars also provide prey for large predators, including tigers, and their habit of rooting for food creates shallows for amphibians near water sources. Still, that depends on their population being kept under control.
One critique of the Wildlife Protection Act is that it safeguards nuisance species, which boars can be in excessive numbers. In fact, there are growing calls for the species to be culled in certain areas of India, according to The Hindu. However, there may be a more humane alternative, per Mongabay: mass sterilization. The point is that environmental policies should have room for growth and adaptation.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers India a "megadiverse" country. It's home to 7% to 8% of all recorded animal and plant species in the world and four of the 34 so-called biodiversity hot spots. India's strong legal protections for animals help sustain its rich ecosystem. Combating biodiversity loss will be a key challenge of this century.
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