Tuesday 3 January 2012

Bhutan - National Council to discuss electric fencing

The National Council will be debating the use of electric fencing to protect crops from wild animals during the current parliamentary session.

Electric fencing has proven to be an effective deterrent against wild animals but its use is not allowed by the Bhutan Electricity Authority Act.

The National Council says allowing farmers to use electric fencing will help solve the longstanding issue of human-wildlife conflict.

Every year farmers lose a substantial amount of their harvest to wild animals. They spend sleepless nights guarding their crops from marauding wild elephants, wild boars, monkeys and deer.

In some places, farmers are also leaving their fields fallow, unable to fight off the wild animals.

If the Bhutan Electricity Act is amended and the use of electric fence legalised, the national council says human wildlife conflict will be resolved to a large extent.

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