Collective condemn proposed Wildlife Amendment Bill

A broad coalition of environmental organisations and civil society groups have condemned the proposed Wildlife Protection (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2025, calling it a regressive, unscientific, and potentially destructive move.

The ‘Coexistence Collective, Kerala’ stated that far from strengthening protection to human or wildlife interests, the Bill instead represents political misrepresentation, ecological irresponsibility and statutory bypassing of expert authority.

In a statement, the group accused the State government of abandoning scientific process, disregarding statutory institutions, and violating constitutional and legal obligations in a desperate act of “reckless political populism” through attempts to appear responsive to human-wildlife conflicts.

According to the collective, the Bill lacks any scientific foundation, having been introduced without consultation with wildlife experts, biologists, research institutions or established conservation organisations. There has been no ecological survey or research backing the proposed measures. They cautioned that such ignorance could escalate conflict and result in irreparable ecological damage.

They also argued that the role of the Chief Wildlife Warden as a statutory authority under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, has also been bypassed entirely. No written or oral representation has reportedly been sought from the senior official, thereby raising questions about the legitimacy of the legislative process.

The group also flags the Bill’s purported proposal to provide sweeping powers to kill wild animals that are suspected of harming humans. They warn that this “shoot-first” approach ignores the possibility of mistaken identity, could potentially encourage indiscriminate killings of endangered species, and bypass existing safeguards in the Wildlife (Protection) Act and National Tiger Conservation Authority guidelines.

They also raised serious concerns about the proposed transfer of powers from the Centre to the State government to declare any species as ‘vermin’. Such a move, if enacted, would open the door to mass killings under local political pressure, collapse of ecological balance, and violate international environmental agreements such as Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The Bill also allegedly fails to address the root causes of human-wildlife conflict such as habitat destruction, quarrying, deforestation and unregulated land use.

The signatories included Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi president N. Badusha, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Idukki district secretary M.N. Jayachandran, environmental activists Veena Maruthoor, T.V. Rajan, E. Kunhikrishnan, Sridhar Radhakrishnan and S. Usha.