Kerala Becomes First State to Amend Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

The Kerala Assembly on October 8 passed the Wildlife Protection (Kerala Amendment) Act, 2025, becoming the first State to amend the Central Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The bill, aimed at addressing human-animal conflicts, empowers the Chief Wildlife Warden to order the shooting, tranquilisation, capture, or translocation of wild animals that attack humans or stray into settlements.

The bill also allows population control by non-lethal methods and enables the government to declare certain Schedule II animals as vermin for limited periods.

The bill will be sent to the President of India and will become law upon assent. The move seeks to balance human safety with wildlife protection.