• HARTI recommends amending Fauna-Flora Protection Ordinance, removing crop pests from protected list, updating law on pellet gun use, relaxing law on sale of meat

The Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) has, in addition to several proposals, recommended the establishment of an Agrarian-Wildlife Conflict Management Unit under the Ministry of Agriculture as a solution to minimise the crop damages caused by animals.

A report prepared by a committee attached to the HARTI with the assistance of experts, animal welfare organisations and other relevant parties on measures to be taken to minimise crop damages caused by animals has been handed over to Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera.

The report states that the wild animal population in the country has already increased compared to the existing forest density, and that the crop damages caused by animals are increasing year by year. Therefore, the committee has recommended that short-, medium-, and long-term solutions be implemented to minimise such damages.

Among the relevant recommendations are establishing an Agrarian-Wildlife Conflict Management Unit, amending the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, No. 2 of 1907, removing animals causing damages to crops from the list of animals to be conserved, updating legal provisions with regard to the use of pellet guns, and relaxing legal restrictions on the sale and consumption of animal meat in selected areas where pest infestation is high.

The report further states that several types of animals including toque macaques, peacocks, giant squirrels, monkeys, and wild boar have been identified as animals that cause the most damage to crops. The most serious damage to coconuts is caused by toque macaques and giant squirrels. The number of coconuts destroyed by these two animals in the first six months of last year (2022) amounted to 92 million.

Following a revelation that crop damages have increased to 30-40% due to wild animals, and the same has affected food production in the country, the Ministry recently stated that it would implement an action plan to minimise the crop damages caused by wild animals. Under this programme, several animals were removed from the list of protected animals late last year.