Karnataka law and parliamentary affairs minister JC Madhuswamy said on Wednesday that the state government caught 19 leopards involved in the human-animal conflict in Mandya district in the last three years.
Answering a question on leopard attacks in the state assembly, he said a special task force has been set up to catch the big cats involved in the human-animal conflict.
Madhuswamy’s statement came in response to a question raised by Janata Dal (Secular) MLA Ravindra Srikantaiah, who demanded a special sanctuary for the leopards.
“Between 2021-22, there have been 410 leopard attacks on farmers and cattle in Mandya district. I want to bring to the chair’s notice the extent of the problem. The leopards have started giving birth to cubs in sugar plantations. This is stopping the pruning of the sugarcane crops,” Srikantaiah said.
“The leopards ferociously attack the farmers and villagers. It is a huge disaster that is happening in Mandya. I want to ask the government what solution are they proposing to this problem,” he asked.
In response, Madhuswamy said, “The leopard is a fast-moving animal. The government has taken several measures. Leopards indeed stay near the villages and not inside the dense forests. It has been announced in the 2023-24 budget to set up a rehabilitation centre for leopards.”
He said the government cannot shoot the animal under the existing laws.
“Compensation has been doubled in recent years for deaths of livestock. A sum of ₹28.87 lakh was paid as compensation for families who had lost 410 domestic animals in leopard attacks in the district during 2021-22,” the Minister said.
In the state budget presented last week, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said, “Task Forces have been set up to prevent the Leopard attacks in Mysuru and Mandya districts in a similar fashion.”
“Administrative approval is provided to employ additional 199 personnel for effective implementation of these works,” he said.
“To control the human-animal conflict, to release the wild animals captured from the conflict zone to their natural habitat after identifying them, suitable facilities will be provided in Bhadra and Bandipur National Parks,” the CM added.
In the last few months, leopard attacks have increased in Karnataka. Since November 2022, four people – including an 11-year-old boy – were killed by leopards. After a leopard claimed four lives in T Narasipura taluk in Mysuru, the department caught both leopards and sent them to Bannerghatta Biological Park, forest officials have said.
In another incident, forest officers caught a leopard in Mudanahalli farmhouse in K R Pete taluk in Mandya district. The leopard entered the house of a farmer and killed a goat. The leopard attacked the farmer Ninge Gowda and his wife, who is undergoing treatment in the hospital. However, they locked the leopard inside the house and informed forest officers.