Archbishop urges govt. to step up action against wildlife attacks

Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church Raphael Thattil has blamed the government for its failure to check the increasing loss of lives owing to wildlife attacks.

He urged the authorities to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of people living close to forests. He condoled the death of the 44-year-old rubber tapper, Gafoof Ali, who was mauled to death by a tiger while working at a plantation at Adakkakundu, near Kalikavu, in Malappuram district on Thursday morning.

The presence of wild animals in human habitations close to forest areas had gone up, and the loss of lives in wild animal attacks was a reminder of the inaction of the Forest department, he said in a communication. The government must initiate steps, learning from the best practices in developed nations to resolve the issue, he added.