Wild animal encroachment has become more severe than ever before. The threat posed by wild animals that leave the forest to the countryside is not small to human life and property. Wild animals are coming out of the forest to the countryside like never before. They are extremely dangerous and cause huge losses to human life and property. Elephants, tigers, wild buffaloes, wild boars, snakes, monkeys, and many other wild animals come out of the forest to the countryside. in search of food. If this is not enough, to make matters worse, some stray dogs in the countryside are also roaming the streets. All the people, especially the hill farmers, are scared. The farmer lives with a broken heart after seeing the wild herds destroying the coconuts, gourds, and bananas. Crops that have been planted, watered, and cared for with great difficulty are wiped out by these animals in no time. People are devastated not knowing what to do, or who to complain to. For the farmers, the desire to live by farming has already gone. Because the problems in the agriculture sector are many. Even if they think that they can stay indoors for the rest of the time or the rest of their life, there is no escape. The wild animals even reached inside the house and are attacking them. If they go out thinking that they can inquire someone about this or complain, there are stray dogs waiting to attack them. They don’t know what is the point of loving these dangerous animals without putting any value on human life. Human life or wildlife? which one is important?  Are wild animals more valuable than human life?

We have some animal lovers and environmentalists here

In the meantime, some people are calling themselves animal lovers and environmentalists, and they are glorifying animal love and environmental love. Animal love and environmentalism are good. These are good topics to talk about and write essays on until they have their own tragic experiences. If anyone asks which is more important, human life or wild animals, both are important. We need forests and we need wild animals in them and these are essential for the balance of nature. But is it necessary to love wild animals without putting any value on human life, without any security for their property, and sacrificing human life?

Shouldn’t humans also live here? Are the forest and some animals in the forest enough?  If we say environmentalist, does it mean that the whole earth should be made a forest? Or if we say animal lover, should we leave this harmful wild animal without killing it? Wild animals come out of the forest and attack people and property. Some say we are animal lovers and enjoy seeing this. Is this really animal love? Things have reached the level of hating humans, saying that they love animals or they are animal lovers. There is one thing they need to understand. These wild animals don’t really have the characteristics of the animals we read about in cartoons when we were young. Wild animals coming out of the forest pose a threat to human life and property. Is it really worth loving dangerous animals without valuing human life? Which one is important, human life or wildlife?

Animal love is good

There are few animal lovers among us who feed stray dogs with biscuits, meat waste, and other food items. All this has gone viral through the media.  Animal love is good and there is nothing wrong with it. But there are some things they don’t understand. These animal lovers don’t stay there with them after feeding them, they go about their business. Again, it is the vulnerable people, women, and children who travel the same route who are often attacked by these stray dogs.

It’s good to remember that stray dogs don’t have the tame and loving nature of our loyal dog that we keep at home. stray dogs are always harmful. It should be understood that group attacks are ingrained in their blood. Do you know how many children have died recently due to the attacks of stray dogs? Have you ever thought how much pain those children must have been in, how scared they must have been without even being able to cry?

 Neither neutering nor vaccination is a solution in the case of stray dogs. They must be killed in a controlled manner. And if we allow them to multiply uncontrollably under the name of animal love, we will lose many more children’s lives. So, the law should be amended accordingly. Love dangerous animals, but don’t value human life?  What is the point of loving dangerous animals without putting any value on human life?

Doesn’t human life have any value here?

What is the point of loving dangerous animals without putting any value on human life? The forest and the countryside are filled with wild animals. The rule is not to touch wild animals. But this law does not apply to animals and they attack humans. These disasters are man-made. Outdated forest and wildlife laws should be rewritten. How many more people have to be killed to bring an end to this brutal justice? Is it enough to protect only the wild animals here? If there is a problem with the rules, they should be rewritten.

The number of people killed by wild animals, the tears of their families, the suffering of injured people, destroyed houses, and destroyed farms are heartbreaking scenes. All this should be seen with open eyes, wild-minded people who provide protection only for wild animals. Love dangerous animals, but don’t value human life? Should only wild animals live here? Human life or wildlife? which one is important. We have lost many human lives due to the attacks of wild animals and stray dogs.  Doesn’t human life have no value here? How many more people have to die to rewrite the laws here, how many more lives have to be sacrificed for the public to respond?

There will be some animal lovers who say that killing animals is cruelty. A question to them is, is it not cruel for humans to be attacked and killed by wild animals? People in the hilly areas live in fear. Humans will not get justice even from the courts unless outdated forest and wildlife laws are scrapped. The government should take the initiative for this. Don’t love animals by giving human blood. Elephants, bison, tigers, wild boars, venomous snakes, and many other wild animals are protected by the government, environmentalists, and courts. But there is no one to speak for the men who are the victim of all these attacks. What is the point of loving dangerous animals without valuing human life?”

Human life is facing a severe crisis

Wild animal encroachment has become more severe than ever before. Human-wildlife conflict has become a common issue in the settlements near the forest border. Wild elephants and tigers are reaching the settlements even during the day. Without protection for life and property, human life is facing a severe crisis in forest areas. Farmers, whose main livelihood was agriculture and animal husbandry, are suffering due to the attack of wild animals. If tubers are cultivated, wild boars are there to destroy them, tigers who are able to catch cows and goats, wild elephants to uproot coconuts and bananas, monkeys living in coconut trees, deer, and peacocks in the fields. And if this is not enough, there are also poisonous snakes and some stray dogs.

In recent times, many people have faced attacks by wild buffalo, bears, and wild boar. But it should be remembered that none of them were attacked in the forest. They were attacked on their own farm and house. How pathetic is the fact that we are not safe even in our own home which we think is the safest? It was with shock that we heard the news that a person named Chacko, who was reading the newspaper in his backyard in Kottayam district Kerala, was attacked by a wild buffalo. Another wild buffalo attacked and knocked down the men who were standing in their own backyard. None of them were killed because they went to the forest or encroached on the forest. All of them were killed by wild animals when they were in their own place, i.e. in their own house or yard.

Is there no value here for the life and property of the farmer who is struggling with the soil? Some animal lovers label this as the fault of the hill farmers. Inhabitation of hilly areas or forest areas did not start today or yesterday. It’s been years. Even then there were wild animals here. Even in the early stages of settlement, there were not so many problems with wild animals like these. With the arrival of humans, all the animals went into the forest, i.e. deep forests, and lived in the natural habitat of the forest.  Most of these wild animal retreat into the jungles when they see humans at that time. But things are the opposite now. No matter, day or night, they come to the countryside and attack people and destroy the crops that have been planted and watered. The farmer’s heart is breaking when he sees the wild animals destroying what he has worked hard for all his life. 

When human-wildlife conflicts escalate

Human-wildlife conflict is one of the most acute problems we are facing or will face. It can be said that now the relationship between man and wild animals is in a very bad state. Why do wild animals leave the forest and come to the countryside? There are many reasons why wildlife disturbance is at an unprecedented level.

Human-wildlife conflicts- problems and solutions

The first thing to mention is the uncontrolled growth of wild animals, i.e. their numbers are more than the forests can support. The number of wild animals has increased more than the forest can contain. So, what then? They are entering the countryside alone or in groups and start violence. We have fought many battles for forest conservation and wildlife conservation. It was somewhat effective. As a result, forest wildlife laws were tightened and enforced and the increase in the number of wild animals has become a problem now.

Another important reason is the lack of food for the animals in the forest. Once upon a time, there were many trees like the Mango tree, Jackfruit tree, Ambazham(Indian hog plum), Gooseberry, Cashew tree, etc. in the forest. Therefore, these wild animals got the food they needed in the forest itself. All these trees have been destroyed due to age and have been replaced by trees like teak and other trees like that. As the availability of food decreased, the animals are forced to leave the forest and come to the countryside for food.

In the past, there was always a human presence in the forest land adjacent to the agricultural land. Humans used to enter the forest to search for grass for cows, and to collect firewood and other forest resources. Animals did not naturally go near human presence. But today humans are prevented from entering the forest. As a result, animals that have no fear of humans come from the forest to the countryside.

It is the duty of the Forest Department to protect forests and wild animals. Then it would be better to produce food for the animals in the forest itself. Cultivation of yam, taro, Guyana yam, and banana in the buffer zone between the inhabited area and the forest has two advantages. First of all, these wild animals will get enough food. Secondly, the difficulties of the farmer who cultivates and feeds humanity will also be understood.

In the past, there was a lot of bamboo and reeds in the forests. These are the favorite food of elephants and wild buffaloes. But now they are all dried up and facing extinction. What is the reason? In ancient times tribal people and farmers used to go to the forest to cut cane and bamboo. Every time they were cut, they would sprout again. Reed, bamboo, and cane are facing extinction as the forest department has imposed restrictions on human access to the forest. Therefore, animals like elephants and wild buffaloes, facing food shortages, started coming down to the countryside.

Decreasing forest area, increase in the number of wild animals and lack of necessary food in the forest are the reasons for the increase in wild animal encroachment. Another reason is human encroachment into their habitat. Due to drought and the destruction of trees such as bamboo, the forest has no food for wild elephants. The presence of invasive plants that are now widely cultivated in the forest is also a threat to the animals. Due to these reasons wild elephants are flocking to the settlements in search of greenery. Although there are barbed wire fences and trenches on the forest borders to defend the wild animals, wild animals cross these and enter the country creating a terror environment.

It is necessary to control the number of wild animals that multiply uncontrollably. Edible animals can be killed and used for food. Don’t we use chicken and other such domestic animals for food? Isn’t the fish in the sea an important food for us? So are the animals in the forest. What’s wrong with it? If this situation continues, that is if they are allowed to proliferate uncontrollably, there is no doubt that their attacks on humans and destruction of crops will be a sequel.

Violent wildlife must be killed. A country should not develop by rearing wild animals. There is no point in managing wildlife without any security for human life. Love dangerous animals, but don’t value human life? Forests are needed and forest resources are also needed, no doubt about that, but wild animals should live in forests or in zoos. Animals that leave the forest and come to the countryside to attack humans should be killed. Even during the migration period, there was not so much harm caused by these wild animals.

Experts who know about this matter say that there are more pigs, monkeys, and wild buffalo than the forest can support. Never expect tameness or friendliness from wild animals. Once the forest is overrun, it descends into the countryside and starts harming humans and domestic animals. The only solution is to control their population and kill those that reach the countryside.

Do Farmers‘ lives have no value here?

Are wild animals more valuable than human life? Human life or wildlife? which one is important? As far as the farmers are concerned, the hope of making a living from farming has been lost for a long time. Along with that, when wild animal attacks are added, things become worse. And if the farmer thinks that he can live inside the house for the rest of the time, the attack of the wild animals even reaches inside the house.  It is very sad that everyone is advocating for animals that kill people and harm their property. The number of people abandoning agriculture due to fear of wild animals is increasing. If the farmer’s tears fall, if the farmer stops farming, the land will be destroyed. If there is no agriculture then there is no life.  Farmers are human too, don’t forget that. If the farmer stops farming, the entire world will starve.

Final thoughts

On the one hand, animals that come out of the forest into the countryside pose a threat to human life and destroy their labor, which has emerged as a humanitarian problem. But at the same time, the issue of animals losing their lives due to human actions and the environmentalism that human encroachment into forest habitats is causing to the destruction of their ecosystem is also raised. We need forest, we need trees, there is no doubt about that, we need animals and all kinds of living things in the forest. But shouldn’t humans too, shouldn’t they live here without fear of wild animals? Don’t expect any kindness and love from wild animals. They don’t know that. They know only the law of the jungle. Attack, destroy, kill, eat, this is what they know

Climate change, water scarcity, and man-made and non-man-made wildfires are exacerbating the problem. The effects of deforestation that we have done for years are becoming acute in many places. Problems related to tourism also affect wildlife. Everyone is aware of the animal rights that wild animals have the right to live and reproduce peacefully in their own natural environment and not to have their natural habitat destroyed. But the question remains how to protect the rights of humans and animals together? Human life or wildlife? Which one is important?

Reference: Facebook post

Image credit: Canva.com

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