The recent circular issued by the Cauvery wildlife sanctuary officers instructing farmers not to rear excess cattle has drawn the ire of the latter in the Chamarajanagara district.
The circular was pasted on a few buildings in Gopinatham in Hanur taluk of the district and has made farmers furious. Chamarajanagara is a border district in Karnataka where most of the farming community comprises small and marginal farmers. Thousands of farmers have taken up dairy farming to earn a livelihood.
“The circular shocked us as thousands of farmers availed self-employment and livelihood through dairy farming. The state government is encouraging farmers to rear cattle by offering subsidy loans and other incentives,” Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) Hanur taluk president Honnur Prakash said.
He said it is inevitable for farmers to rear cattle for livelihood, and the officials should encourage this, but they are demoralising. He warned of severe protest against the forest officials if they do not withdraw the circular within the next seven days.
“According to the Wildlife Act, domestic animals should not be sent inside sanctuaries. The sanctuary has several tigers. If the tigers kill cattle, it would be a loss for farmers,” Cauvery wildlife sanctuary deputy conservator of forests L Nandish said.
Thousands of wild animals in the forest may get infected with diseases if they come in contact with domestic animals. “How do we find and treat them?” he said. “Cattle are easy prey for tigers. If the tigers are addicted to cattle pray, they will come to villages in search of them. By thinking of all this, we have asked farmers not to rear excess cattle,” he said.
He clarified that they are not against rearing cattle, but at the same time, they have to protect wild animals.
