Nagpur, Dec 8 (IANS) The Maharashtra government has appealed to the Centre to exclude leopards from Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act and include them in Schedule 2 amid increasing deaths due to attacks in various parts of the state.

Forest Minister Ganesh Naik on Monday said the burgeoning man-animal conflict has been extensively discussed in the state government, and the issue has also been taken up with the Centre with an appeal for its urgent intervention.

Naik said that the conservationists and some people took a serious objection to my statement that the forest department officers should shoot the leopards after a few deaths were reported, especially in residential colonies. “However, the leopards are included in Schedule One. Therefore, there are limitations on catching and killing man-eating leopards. Therefore, a proposal has now been sent to the Central government to remove leopards from Schedule One. Permission for the sterilisation of leopards has been received from the Central government. Therefore, man-eating leopards should be found and sterilised,” he added.

According to the forest department sources, leopards are currently listed under Schedule I, which gives them the highest level of protection, making the process of catching or killing “man-eating” leopards a restricted and complicated process.

Following a recent increase in fatal leopard attacks on humans, particularly in the Pune, Nashik, and Ahilyanagar districts, residents and politicians have demanded government action. The intent behind including leopards in Schedule 2 is to enable broader intervention in conflict zones and provide authorities with more flexibility in dealing with problem animals, such as easier capture, translocation, or, in extreme cases, killing of man-eaters if they cannot be captured or tranquillised.

Naik’s announcement comes days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently chaired the meeting and directed the administration to put up a proposal to declare the increasing problem of leopard attacks on humans in the state as a ‘state disaster’. He also directed that cages should be installed immediately at necessary places to control leopards attacking people.

Further, the chief minister asked the concerned departments to start two rescue centres for the treatment and rehabilitation of leopards in Pune district in the next two to three months. The chief minister also directed the administration to use drones to locate leopards near human settlements and establish new rescue centres for captured leopards.

–IANS

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