Pune, Dec. 31 -- Following final approval from the Centre on November 17, the Maharashtra forest department has initiated planning for a pilot leopard birth control programme in Junnar, one of the state's most human-wildlife conflict-affected areas. Since wildlife immunocontraception relies on vaccines such as porcine zona pellucida or GnRH-based formulations like GonaCon, neither of which is produced in India, the department will now source these internationally, which will require regulatory approvals and strict cold-chain arrangements. To be carried out on an experimental basis by the Junnar forest division, the project marks India's first attempt to regulate wild leopard populations through non-lethal and non-surgical methods. Forest officials have begun shortlisting female leopards suitable for inclusion in the programme. Only female leopards in their prime breeding years will be selected. "Leopards between three and five years of age will be chosen following blood tests and health check-ups. They will be recently captured from the field to allow accurate monitoring before and after the intervention," said Smita Rajhans, assistant conservator of forests, Junnar. The pilot comes amid a rise in human-leopard conflict in western Maharashtra, where at least 20 people have died since April this year. Junnar, especially, has become a hotspot for such conflicts. The forest department first submitted the proposal to the Union environment ministry in January 2024. After clarifications in March and a revised submission in June, it was sent to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in December 2024 for scientific evaluation. WII, which studied leopard behaviour in Junnar from 2020 to 2024, assessed the feasibility of fertility control and recommended approval, which was granted in November 2025. The pilot project will treat five female leopards with immunocontraception, a non-surgical, reversible vaccine-based method that blocks key reproductive processes, preventing pregnancy without permanently sterilising the animals. Chief conservator of forests, Pune, Ashish Thakare, said the department would proceed with extreme caution given the lack of precedent. "The Junnar project is probably the first of its kind in the world for wild leopards," he said. Given the project's experimental nature, the Centre has appointed chief conservator of forests Jitendra Ramgaonkar as principal investigator to oversee the trial and ensure compliance with government conditions. However, the programme is unlikely to be rolled out immediately."This is not a quick-fix solution," an official said. "We will proceed only after ensuring the intervention does not pose risks to the animals or the ecosystem."...