The Centre has approved a Maharashtra government proposal to implement a birth control programme for leopards in regions where human-leopard encounters are rising. The move aims to manage big cat sightings and reduce human-leopard attacks.

The decision comes seventeen months after the Maharashtra government sent a proposal to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), making it the country's first such initiative.

Where will the first leopard birth control trial be conducted?

The pilot project for leopard birth control will start in Pune's Junnar, where leopard encounters with humans are most frequent. Last year, the department proposed a plan to sterilise 125 female leopards to control the population. For now, the first phase will focus on just five female

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