Use of electric fencing legalised

The National Council has decided to legalise the use of electric fencing. It has been found that its use does not contradict provisions in the Bhutan Electricity Act.

The Bhutan Electricity Act does not allow the use of electric fencing if they pose a threat to human or animal life.

To confirm that it is not life threatening, an official with the Renewable Natural Resources Research and Development Centre in Wengkhar, Monggar, demonstrated how an electric wire that he has designed using locally available materials could be used to protect farmer’s crops from wild animals.

Human-wildlife conflict is a major issue in the villages. Every year farmers lose a substantial amount of their harvest to wild animals. There are also instances where farmers have left their fields fallow unable to ward-off the wild animals.

The Haa MP agreed that the electric fencing will be an effective deterrent against wild animals, “but due to different interpretation of the law, the people were not able to use it.”

As a pilot project, the electric fencing has been used in Trashigang, Monggar, and Samdrup Jongkhar.

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