Goa Forest dept begins survey to determine vermin

Goa Forest Department has started a fresh survey to determine which all animals cause nuisance, a move that come days after Goa government proposed to reclassify national bird peacock as 'vermin'.
Government drew flak from environmentalists and activists for its proposal and raised threat of mass culling of the national bird.
"The department is in the process of collecting data from farmers and other sources to establish which are the wild animals that could be declared as vermin," Chief Wildlife Warden Ajay Saxena said today.
Forest department after conducting the survey would place it before State Wildlife Board, chaired by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, he said.

State Agriculture Minister Ramesh Tawadkar had recently stirred up controversy after he had stated that Peacock and State animal Indian Bison are among animals to be listed as 'vermin'.
Saxena said the government will list out animals which can be listed as vermin but the final decision would be taken by Union Ministry of Environment and Forest.
"Only after MoEF approval, the rules will be formed to cull or hunt down these animals," he said.