TN: Ailing elephant taken 200 km away for wedding function, dies on way back

Gulabi, an ailing 60-year-old elephant died while being transported on a truck from Pollachi to Srirangam, a distance of 200 kilometres. Animal activists have accused the owner of inhumane exploitation of the mammal as it was sent to take part in a wedding celebration to Pollachi even as she was unwell. Activists say veterinarians had advised complete rest for Gulabi as she was suffering from an illness. The animal fainted several times in Pollachi and with great difficulty she was put on a truck with the help of an excavator for her return journey. She died before reaching Srirangam, and her carcass has been taken into custody by forest officials for conducting postmortem examination.

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Herd of elephants storms Indian village

A herd of around 80 elephants causes pandemonium in a village in Krishnagiri, southern India, storming through the centre and destroying houses. A group of villagers gathered to watch the elephants and started chasing the animals by throwing stones and making loud noises. The incident reportedly occurred after a young man taunted one of the elephants, angering it and causing it to chase him aggressively. The man fled, but started taunting the elephant from a safer distance. Animal activists have insisted that strong actions should be taken against individuals who tease wild elephants. The footage was shot on December 31, 2018.

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Farmers pin hopes on forest department

The district forest department has only three more days to keep its assurance given to the farmers to translocate the wild elephants – Vinayakan and Chinna Thambi – before December 9. The department gave the assurance during a meeting held on Sunday.

With the forest department yet to take a final call on the issue, uncertainty prevails over the fate of the wild elephants even as farmers and animal activists root for their translocation.

M Mahalakshmi, a farmer, said three acres of her farmland remain idle for the past one-and-half years because of the fear of wild elephant raid.

“The elephant movement into human habitats has become frequent in the past two years and there is not a single place in Periyanaickenpalayam, especially Thadagam Valley, without the footprints of elephants. As the elephants started raiding crops daily, over 100 acres of land were left uncultivated,” Mahalakshmi said.

General secretary of Vivasaigal Sangam P Kandasamy said no longer we could bear the elephant menace and we want the officials to translocate the wild elephants before December 9.

“The forest department has tried all the possible ways to curb the elephant menace, but nothing worked out. The only option now left is to translocate the tuskers,” he said. “The department even tried driving away the wild elephants using three kumkis for the past one month,” he pointed out.

Wildlife activist Mac Mohan said, “There is no harm in translocating one problematic elephant for the welfare of the farmers. It is the responsibility of the forest department to identify whether the elephants are actually problematic or not.”

He said it is important to ensure that locals do not start hating wildlife because of the elephant menace. Without the support of locals, it is impossible to conserve the wildlife, he added President of Osai, an NGO, S Kalidasan said there are three elephants and a calf moving in the region and it is important to identify which is the problematic elephant before translocating them. It is also important to monitor the movement of elephants after they are translocated, he added. The wild elephants had been entering human habitations frequently ever since August and damaging crops. Since August, the death toll due to human-animal conflict has gone up to six in the region. As the department continuous to be cautious so as not to taste another bitter experience, the farmers are clinging on to the last piece of hope that they have on the forest department.

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India’s first & only elephant hospital is ‘illegal’, says Central Zoo Authority

Central Zoo Authority says elephant hospital run by NGO never took permission. NGO claims it doesn’t need CZA permission.

New Delhi: Weeks after India’s first elephant hospital opened in Mathura, much to the joy of animal activists and tourists, a central regulatory body has said it is “illegal and not permissible for operation” and recommended the NGO running it be prosecuted.

In a notice sent to the Uttar Pradesh government on 30 November, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has said: “The Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, Mathura, is established without obtaining prior permission of this authority and operating without obtaining recognition by this authority.

“Therefore, the said facility is illegal and not permissible for operation.”

The facility is owned and run by NGO Wildlife SOS, and is equipped with facilities such as wireless digital X-Ray, thermal imaging, ultrasonography, tranquilisation devices and quarantine facilities.

Prosecution recommended

Soon after the Mathura centre opened last month, some animal rights activists are said to have complained to the CZA regarding the alleged violations of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Recommending that the NGO be prosecuted for the aforementioned “illegality”, the CZA has advised the Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttar Pradesh to take necessary action in the matter.

“Further, the Chief Wildlife Warden, Uttar Pradesh is advised to get the allegations raised in the complaints enquired and also take prosecution action under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 against the operator of the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, Mathura for its illegal operation in violation of Section 38-H(1A) and 38-H(1) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972,” the notice said.

“Also, a report on compliance be sent to the office of the Central Zoo Authority.”

Also read: Mathura hospital to give elephants a real healing touch

Opposite points of view

Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of Wildlife SOS, denied the allegations, arguing that the notice is a result of “some confusion”. He pointed out that the CZA is only a regulatory authority for zoos and rescue centres, and that the centre in Mathura is neither.

“What we have established in Mathura is an elephant camp, wherein elephants are housed, provided care and medical treatment,” said Satyanarayan, who served as a CZA member from 2007 to 2017.

“There are elephant camps across the country and none of them are recognised by the CZA…Then why this particular camp?”

Further, adding that at least two inspector generals of forests from the environment ministry in the central government had congratulated Wildlife SOS for the camp in writing when it opened, Satyanarayan said: “Surely, two departments of the central government cannot be saying opposite things. Also, if our facility was illegal, they wouldn’t be writing congratulatory letters to us.”

The Director General of Forests in the central government, Siddhanta Das, agreed with him. CZA, he told ThePrint, does not have authority over elephant camps and is responsible for regulation of zoos alone.

However, D.N. Singh, member secretary of the CZA, said that under the Wildlife Protection Act, any facility which houses animals for more than 30 days is deemed a rescue centre under law, and therefore needs CZA permission to function.

“If you have kept elephants for more than 30 days in captivity, you have to be recognised by CZA,” he said.

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