Within the last four decades, wild boars have become mythic creatures rather than an agricultural problem in Kashmir. Since around the middle of the 1980s, wild boars have not been present in the rural area.
However, recent news reports from central and northern parts of Kashmir indicate that the wild boars are returning after a very long absence to these regions. Numerous reports of wild boar sightings have been made and increasing amounts of crop damage have been reported in the past few months.
While this resurgence may be of ecological interest to scientists studying the behaviour of wild boar populations, it represents a serious risk to the livelihoods of local farmers in these areas as well as a serious challenge for the Department of Wildlife Protection personnel.
According to the information received, farmers in central and northern Kashmir are identifying losses of their maize crops and vegetable gardens each night as a result of damage caused by wild boars.
The living habits of wild boars are very destructive because they not only consume crops, but also uproot, damage or trample on many of the cultivated areas on farms. This damage results in a financial loss to many of the small scale farmers in the region.
The re-establishment or return of wild boars to central and northern Kashmir is the result of a major change or shift in environmental conditions (such as climate changes or ecological shifts), or possibly a continuing movement of boars northward into the area from bordering areas.
Based on the information received, immediate, cooperative action is required by both the Department of Wildlife Protection and the agricultural authorities in Kashmir.
The first step will be to conduct an extensive assessment of the community of these animals to determine how many there are and how they have moved around the country since being re-introduced into the area.
In order to prevent risk to agricultural land, action should be taken against the large boar population through the use of non-lethal methods of deterrent/relocation, increasing fencing and barriers in areas of high risk, and establishing community-based monitoring to track movements and population numbers.
The return of wild pigs in Kashmir is an example of how our ecological systems are always changing, and as the pigs begin to create their own communities within the valley, the development of a comprehensive and scientifically supported method to control their growth will need to be developed to prevent this occurrence from becoming a permanent source of economic destruction for agriculture within the valley.
The government needs to take immediate action to control the growth of this invasive species. If this issue is not dealt with quickly and effectively, there will be long-term consequences for farmers in Kashmir as a result of the irreversible damages done by this growing population.
