Kerala: Licensed shooters boycott wild boar culling over new rule
Licensed shooters in some districts of Kerala have started boycotting wild boar culling in February 2026 (no specific date given in source).
The protest comes after the Forest department said only those with crop-protection or self-defense licenses can take part—leaving out nearly half of the state's approved shooters.
The boycott began in a few districts and is set to spread statewide.
Farmers' groups, shooters' unions have protested
Wild boars have been damaging crops and even threatening people, so local bodies were allowed to organize culls (authorisation date not specified in source), killing 4,734 by July (as reported in the source).
But there's still a shortage of shooters, and this new rule makes things tougher.
Shooter groups are calling the order unfair to sports and institutional license holders; one association leader called it "an illegal government order."
Farmers' groups have also criticized the rule.