Kodenchery panchayat to deploy native shooters to hunt down wild boars

Financial constraints prevent the local body from engaging shooters from Telangana on a regular basis

A month-and-a-half after it recruited professional shooters from Telangana to tackle wild boars, Kodenchery grama panchayat, in the upland region of Kozhikode district, is still devising plans to put an end to the menace.

The three shooters from Telangana had killed 10 wild boars during their two-day outing through farms in the panchayat. However, the local body is not in a position to deploy them on a regular basis owing to financial constraints. Hence, it is planning to put native shooters to the best use.

“We have already roped in eight shooters who reside in the panchayat, with genuine gun licences. They will move in three groups on different routes in search of wild boars,” said panchayat president Alex Thomas. The shooters will begin work by the end of October.

On the other hand, the shooters from Telangana, who are in great demand, may visit Kodenchery once again in November.

Kodenchery was one of the first grama panchayats in the State to put the local body president’s newly conferred position as ‘honorary wildlife warden’ to the best use. That the local body authorities have been authorised to cull wild boars is a welcome change to farmers of Kodenchery who have been troubled by boars for years.