The Ministry of Environment has said it will provide legal and administrative support to wildlife and veterinary officers who face false or baseless allegations while properly carrying out their duties.
The assurance was given by the Environment Minister at a special discussion held on Wednesday with representatives of the Wildlife Veterinary Professional Association, the Daily Mirror reported.
The Minister said the Ministry would not hesitate to stand by officers through legal and administrative means where false allegations were made against them in the course of proper performance of their duties.
Social media a stated concern
The meeting drew attention to inaccurate information circulating on social media concerning wildlife officers, veterinary officers and the Ministry’s administration — an unusually direct acknowledgement that online claims are affecting a frontline service.
Wildlife officers work at the sharpest edge of the human-elephant conflict, where individual decisions on capture, translocation and euthanasia are visible, contested and readily filmed.
Long-running grievances
The discussion also covered long-standing professional and service-related issues faced by wildlife veterinarians — the same territory behind a dispute that has disrupted the service for months. The Wildlife and Zoo Veterinary Officers’ Association began a work-to-rule campaign on 1 June, and by August the Ministry was drafting in Tri-Forces veterinary officers to keep emergency wildlife treatment running.
The Daily Mirror’s report refers to the Wildlife Veterinary Professional Association and does not state whether it is the same body as the association behind the work-to-rule action, nor whether that campaign has ended.
The Ministry said the discussions would contribute to improving welfare in the wildlife sector and the job satisfaction of veterinary officers, while ensuring services continue uninterrupted. No specific measures, timelines or settlement terms were announced.
