The Himachal Kheti Bachao Sangarsh Samiti,an umbrella organisation of peasants,the Kisan Sabha and NGOs like Gyan Vigyan Samiti said on Sunday it would fight the People for Animals (PFA) in court,and also outside,if stopped from killing monkeys and other wild animals damaging their crops. In the last three days,farmers of the hill state have killed several animals,after the state government allowed killing of monkeys,wild boars,neelgai and two other categories of wild animals as a measure to protect the crops. Hundreds of farmers have been granted permit by the wildlife department for the purpose. There is no exact count of animals killed in the last three days,but organisations supporting the campaign said everything was being done as per law and procedure,including proper burying or disposal of the killed animals. On Sunday,after Chandigarh-based organisations fighting for animal rights came out in protest against the state governments decision,wildlife officials sought to downplay the campaign. Powers to grant licences to kill dangerous animals is not new. It is just that organisations like Kheti Bachao Samiti have become more aggressive now, said a senior official. Kuldeep Tanwar,a former Indian Forest Services officer who is the convenor of the samiti,said: It is strange that animal rights activists based in Chandigarh never tried to understand the plight of the farmers who have stopped cultivation of crops. Every day there is news about monkey attacks. Who will speak for the rights of farmers? The Samiti leader said that they had already submitted separate memoranda to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Leader of the Opposition Vidya Stokes,asking for a long-term solution to the problem. We are going to carry on with the campaign and will fight all those who oppose this,unless a better solution is found, said Tanwar.
