Thursday, January 10, 2013

New rules to make life miserable for temple elephants


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the festival season across the state is set to begin, a new set of rules notified by the forest and wildlife department is likely to prove detrimental to elephants employed in temples.

The Kerala captive elephants (Management and Maintenance) rules, 2012, say elephants can be used for processions for up to nine hours a day. The new timings for processions are 6-11 am and 4 to 8 pm. This notification is in violation of a 2008 Kerala high court order which directed that elephant processions should not go beyond three hours a day.

There are around 700 captive elephants in the state. Last season alone, 716 elephant attacks occurred and 42 people lost their lives. Most of the violent incidents occurred as their owners, looking to make an extra buck, pushed the elephants beyond their limit ignoring the animals' fatigue, musth period or other ailments.

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