Crop Damage Spurs Govt to Re-list Wild Boar as Pest Animal

The government has once again listed the wild boar as a “pest animal”, allowing farmers to capture or kill it without prior permission if it enters farmland and damages crops.

In a notice published in the Nepal Gazette on Monday, February 23, the Ministry of Forests and Environment said the decision was taken under Section 36 of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Rules, 1974.

The provision will remain in force for one year and does not apply to small-sized wild boars, the notice said.

Additionally, it applies only under specific conditions. Action may be taken only when wild boars cause damage to crops. Farmers may act individually or collectively. If a wild boar is captured alive, it must be handed over immediately to the nearest national park office, wildlife reserve, hunting reserve, conservation area office, division forest office or its subordinate office. Details of such incidents must also be reported to the concerned ward office.

The arrangement seeks to protect farmers’ livelihoods.

Farmers in both the hills and the Tarai have long complained of crop losses caused by wild boars. The decision follows the recent enlistment of the rhesus macaque as a pest animal.

Crop destruction by wildlife has emerged as a serious problem, particularly in the hill districts. In many areas, farmers have switched to less vulnerable crops or abandoned farming altogether. Some have migrated in search of alternative livelihoods.

With arable land increasingly left fallow and agricultural output declining, concerns are mounting over food security and the risk of a potential crisis in the years ahead.