Latest News | Don't Permit Cattle to Graze in Megamalai: HC

Chennai, Mar 4 (PTI) The Madras High Court on Friday restrained the authorities concerned from granting permission for grazing cattle inside the Megamalai Wildlife and Sanctuary and the Theni Forest division in Tamil Nadu.

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A division bench of Justices V Bharathidasan and N Sathish Kumar granted the injunction while passing orders on a PIL from Thirumurugan of Morepannai fishing village in Ramanathapuram district.

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The petition prayed for a direction to the relevant authorities to completely ban cattle grazing in the Megamalai Wildlife Division and Sanctuary under the jurisdiction of the Wildlife Warden and the Theni Forest Division under the control of the District Forest Officer.

Among other things, the petitioner contended that grazing of Malaimaadu and other cattle in Megamalai grasslands and Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary is violative of Sections 21 and 57 of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act, Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act and Section 17-A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

He also feared transmission of diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Anthrax from domesticated cattle to wild animals. Man to animal disease transmission is also possible like COVID-19.

Destruction of habitats and livelihoods of the wild animals eventually leads to human-wildlife conflict, which is prevalent in recent times in Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary and Wildlife division, the petitioner said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)