Supreme Court judge Justice B V Nagarathna said at a conference in Thiruvananthapuram that despite large-scale development, changes in land use and economic growth, India has always had a cultural tolerance for animals.
“India has maintained a very precarious balance between people and animals because of this inherent culture and belief that you have to share space with animals. The recent trends appear that the trajectory is towards a human-centric approach and there is a disregard for the fundamental duty enshrined in Article 51(A)(g) of the Constitution with regard to compassion to creatures,” she said on Saturday at a regional conference on “Human-Wildlife Conflict and Co-Existence” organised by the National Legal Services Authority and the Kerala State Legal Services Authority.
“We are looking at the issue only through a narrow prism of wildlife encroaching human space. Let us look at a large lens and focus on why animals are entering human space and why wildlife-human existence is turning into a conflict,” Justice Nagarathna said.
Justice M M Sundresh of the Supreme Court also spoke at the event. On human-wildlife conflict, he said, “Animals do not have the concept of property and they do not have the concept of understanding certain things as we perceive to be. In the name of development, in the name of expansion, whatever we call it… it is we who created the situation.”
“If animals could have religion, man would be the devil. Is it not true? Being the devil, we have gathered here to remedy the situation,” he said, adding that it is the duty of every individual to protect nature.
Calling for a holistic approach to find solutions, Kerala High Court Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar said human-wildlife coexistence is getting strained, leading to conflict. “Policy initiatives in this regard require a holistic approach. The legal services authority can provide education and awareness in this regard. The principle of inter-dependence and inter-connectivity is the foundation for finding solutions,” he said.
Attorney General of India R Venkataramani, Kerala High Court judge Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Kerala Law Minister P Rajeeve also addressed the gathering.
