Human-animal conflict: preventive measures around 20 hotspots in Kozhikode reviewed

A district-level meeting chaired by Minister for Public Works P.A. Mohamed Riyas on Monday (July 7, 2025) reviewed the field-level measures taken by various government departments to address farmers’ grievances over wild animal menace in the upland areas.

Forest department officials, who presented the latest statistics on human–animal conflicts, said Kozhikode had 20 hotspots where heightened surveillance measures were in place. They added that the majority of grievances were related to wild boar attacks.

“Within the past four years, there were 549 incidents of wild boar attacks in the district. This was apart from another 529 incidents involving wild elephants,” said Divisional Forest Officer (Kozhikode) U. Ashiq Ali. However, he said snakebites were found to be the major cause of deaths.

Mr. Ali said the Forest department had distributed ₹233.47 crore as compensation to those who suffered losses due to wild animal menace over the past four years. He also pointed out that forest squads had launched 10 separate missions to counter human–animal conflict and address safety concerns.

At the meeting, an action plan under the Disaster Management Authority was also recommended to identify all uninhabited private lands in the district that have become safe havens for wild animals. Support from various government departments, including Local Self Government, Revenue, and Irrigation, would be sought to clear such areas in the interest of public safety.