Spotted Deer off Banned List in the Andamans

Spotted Deer off Banned List; Hunting License in Process

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Vol. 33, Issue 34-35, January 2, 2009

BYSTAFFREPORTER
N ew Year brings a rea- son to smile for those interested in sport hunting and all those who havve been resorting to illegal means to get venison or deer meat. If you have a licensed gun rusting in some corner of your house, its time get busy with oiling, cleaning and shooting practice.
The department of wildlife has taken spotted dear off the list of protected species of animals on the ground that it is an exotic animal introduced by the British regime sometimes in early 1920s.
"Spotted deer is an exotic species that plays havoc with the environment. It causes tremendous damage to the forest and hence the department has decided to take it off the protected list" said Bhanu Pratap Yadav, Divisional Forest Officer, Havelock Forest Division. "Process is on to introduce hunting license and it will be implemented very soon" he concluded.
Deer meat or venison is very popular among the local people. Putting it on the protected species list had come as a rude shock. The demand was mostly met by illegal had come up allegedly in connivance with unscrupulous forest officials. License to hunt would go a long way to eliminate the black market. However, it would be nobody's interest if the species is washed out through over exploitation.
The Wildlife department would certainly take precaution to contain rather than annihilate the species.