Forest staff initiate awareness drive on wildlife protection

Srikakulam: The killing of wild animals like snakes, python, rattlesnakes, pigs, spotted deer, stags has become a fashion in agency and rural areas.

In most of the occasions, locals are killing these animals in agricultural fields, hilly areas and on outskirts of the villages, where there is no imminent danger from these wild animals. After killing the animals, they are taking selfies and posting the same in social media too. But the wild animals are important in maintaining ecological balance and to protect the order of food chain process. If any imbalance is caused to food chain or ecology or biodiversity, we have to pay heavy price for it.

Expressing serious concern over the issue, the Forest department officials started awareness drive among people in the agency areas. They said that if food chain balance is disturbed, it will lead to collapse of entire biodiversity.

They added if we kill snakes belonging to different varieties, then rats and bandicoots' population will increase in numbers which results in spread of deadly diseases like plague. If we kill frogs indiscriminately, small creatures like mosquitoes will grow and spread various types of fevers and diseases among humans.

To prevent killing of wild animals and creatures, the forest department has started organising awareness camps with assistance of an NGO, 'Green Mercy' at Tekkali, Palakonda, Pathapatnam, Srikakulam and Palasa for five days.

The first camp was organised at Tekkali on December 6. "Python is mentioned in schedule-1 in the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 as it is listed in endangered wild lives list and we are all having a duty to protect it," stated divisional forest officer (DFO) for territorial division and also in-charge for wild lives in the district, Sandeep Krupakar Gundala to The Hans India. Killing of any animal or creature which was listed in schedule-1 is a non-bailable offence, he added.