Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre has directed Forest Department officials to take steps to ban livestock grazing in all forest areas of Karnataka.This order comes in the backdrop of the death of five tigers in the M.M. Hills Wildlife Sanctuary on June 26. A tigress and its four cubs were reported to have died of poisoning by the owner of the cow which was killed by the big cat.In a note to the Additional Chief Secretary and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr. Khandre said that villagers living in the perimeter of the M.M. Hills and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary are allowing large numbers of livestock to graze in the forest area.Diseases tooThis, he said, apart from causing man-animal conflict, is hindering forest regeneration, causing a shortage of fodder for herbivorous animals in the forest and also leading to the possibility of wildlife contracting infectious diseases from the livestock.“Wildlife experts and environmentalists are of the opinion that grazing livestock in sanctuaries should be banned immediately. Further, when wild animals kill cattle in the forest, some people get angry and poison the carcass of the cattle, resulting in the death of wild animals. This is also evident in the recent death of a mother tiger and four cubs in the M.M. Hills area,” he said.Published - July 22, 2025 08:58 pm IST