Thiruvananthapuram, May 21 (IANS): Senior Congress leader and leader of the opposition in Kerala legislative assembly V.D. Satheeshan said that the concern of the Catholic bishops on the attack by animals of farmers is natural.

He said that with the growing wild animal-human conflict, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) has all the right to express its concern.

The Congress leader said that the KCBC was only expressing the anxiety of the people who were being tormented by regular, human-wild animal conflict.

Satheesan said, "The regular human-animal conflict has led to the people complain to the clergy and naturally the Church has to express its concern and there is no wrong in this."

Coming out heavily against the state forest minister, he said, that the minister has not done anything to relieve the concern of the people who were regularly facing attacks from wild animals.

He said that previous UDF government of Oomen Chandy had done several things to reduce the human-animal conflict and several areas were fenced during that period. He said that the present LDF government of Pinarayi Vijayan has failed to continue with such projects and no fencing was done.

It may be noted that the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) had issued a note on the killing of three persons by wild gaur in two separate incidents.