India, Feb. 24 -- Even as the Maharashtra forest department moves ahead with plans to establish new rescue and transit treatment centres (TTCs) across 11 forest circles, it continues to grapple with a basic gap: the absence of a single full-time veterinary officer within the department.

Currently, most rescue and treatment facilities function through partnerships with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which also provide veterinary services. In many locations, veterinarians are either employed by these organisations or engaged on an outsourced basis. The growing dependence has triggered concern within the department, particularly as incidents of human-wildlife conflict rise and projects such as leopard sterilisation are under discuss...