Issues related to animal rescue and capture

Source-This post on Issues related to animal rescue and capture has been created based on the article “The blurry lines between wildlife ‘capture’ and ‘rescue’” published in “The Hindu” on 12 April 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-3– Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Context-The article highlights the significance of properly rescuing animals in the wake of escalating frequency of human-wildlife interactions.

Rescue can be defined as an act of saving or being saved from danger or difficulty. Rescue situations often involve leopards stuck in wells, elephants stranded in water tanks, snakes in homes, or lost elephant calves separated from their herds.

 What are the problems with the animal capture and relocation approach to minimize human-wildlife conflict?

1) Complex Process-It is a complex process that requires chemical and physical immobilization of animals. Further, it needs a balanced team of experts, each with their specific role. However,domain experts are not easily available.

2) Violation of governments guidelines-Guidelines issued by the central government discourage the capture of leopards on mere sight. When leopards kill livestock or elephants damage crops, it affects communities, but it might not always justify capturing them under the pretext of rescue.

3) Physical damage– It can hurt them physically, cause injuries, and stress them out, making it harder for them to survive after release. For ex- an elephant taken from a coffee plantation was released 200 km away into unfamiliar territory. Later, it wandered into a neighboring state. Another attempt to rescue it ended with its death.

4) Disruption of ecosystems-Relocation of a wild animal disrupts two ecosystems, the one from where the animal is taken from, and the one to which that animal is introduced.

Read more- Need for new definition of elephant corridors

What should be the way forward?

1) Proper Evaluation-There should be a realistic assessment of the situation. This requires identifying the problem, limiting any factors that may cause stress to animals, ensure that other proactive measures have been exhausted before resorting to animal capture.

2) Karnataka Model– Proactive mitigation strategies to avoid human animal conflict should be promoted. This includes early warning systems, regular monitoring, fencing, better lighting, public education, and improved waste management to reduce, or better prepare communities for potential interactions with wildlife. This has been adopted by the Karnataka Forest department.

3) Integrating the welfare of animals and humans– The term “rescue” often suggests a conflict between species that is either animals are threatened by humans or humans feel threatened by wild animals.  Trying to “rescue” in these situations can make one side look like the villain, harming trust in conservation efforts. Thus, there is a need to view communities as including both humans and animals, rather than creating divisions through wildlife management.

Question for practice

Highlight the problems with the animal capture and relocation approach to minimize human-wildlife conflict? What steps can be taken to reduce human-wildlife conflict?