KATHMANDU, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government has declared wild boars, excluding the smaller species, an "agriculture-damaging wild animal" for one year, allowing farmers to chase away, capture, or even kill them without obtaining prior permission from government authorities.

Photo taken on July 23, 2019 shows the Swayambhunath Stupa, also known as the Monkey temple, on the hill of Halchowk in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. (Photo: Xinhua)

The Ministry of Forests and Environment said in a statement on Tuesday that the designation was made in view of the damage the animals have been causing to farmers' crops, exercising the authority granted under Rule 36 of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Regulations, 1973.

Earlier, on Feb. 12, the ministry had placed the wild monkey (Macaca mulatta) on the same list, as farmers continue to suffer heavy crop losses caused by wildlife.

According to the statement, farmers are now allowed -- without prior permission -- to chase away, drive off, capture, or even kill wild boars (except the smaller species) that enter and damage their private fields or orchards. This decision will remain in effect for one year from the date of publication in the Nepal Gazette.

Nepal's decision comes at a time when wild animals such as wild boars and monkeys are increasingly encroaching on farmlands, causing severe crop losses and forcing many farmers to abandon cultivation.

Amid growing migration from rural to urban areas and the increasing abandonment of farmlands, forest cover has expanded, leading to greater human-wildlife interaction, with monkeys and wild boars entering agricultural land and damaging crops. In some cases, wild boars have attacked humans, causing occasional fatalities.

Farmers in the hill and Tarai regions have long complained that wild boars have been destroying their crops for years. The government's decision is expected to provide some relief to affected farmers.