MESSAGE ON ELEPHANT FROM COMPASSION UNLIMITED PLUS ACTION

[Guest guest]

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Suparna Ganguly <suparnaganguly

Jun 15, 2006 1:46 PM

KERALA ELEPHANT NEEDS SUPPORT

To:

 

- Hide quoted text -

 

 

Jun 16, 2006 1:33 AM

KERALA ELEPHANT NEEDS SUPPORT

 

DEAR FRIENDS,

 

 

*Action Alert:* to demand the Minister order the release into the wild

of an elephant, Kolakkoli, who has been presently housed in a " kraal " since

the 1st of June in the Peppara-Kottur forest area, Kerala, and is being

prepared for " training " to make him captive.

 

Kerala's massive problem with its captive elephants and the Kerala Forest

Department's inability to take care of the sick, injured and abused captive

elephants in the State is reason enough to urge the Kerala Government to

desist from putting this animal through the *infamous " kraal " training

system. *

*

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*

 

An *appeal letter by fax* needs to be sent to:

 

 

 

Shri Binoy Viswam - Hon'ble Minister for Environment and Forests,

Secretariat, Statue, Trivandrum, Kerala *Fax No: +91- 0471- 2326677/

2322217 ***

*

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*

 

 

 

An *email letter* needs to be sent to: Hon'ble Union Minister for

Environment & Forests – Delhi - mef

 

PCCF & Chief Wildlife Warden – Kerala - *pccf@ *keralaforest.org

, Project Elephant – Delhi - < gajendra* >*

 

 

 

And send us a bcc please, at wrrcbrc

*

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*

 

 

 

*Background:* A full-grown tusker has been captured under the orders of the

Kerala Forest Minister and will undergo the " training " required to make him

into an obedient " Kumki " elephant (used for various operations to control

and chase wild elephants).

 

 

 

We have been monitoring the development of this assumed rogue elephant

captured by the Kerala Forest Department (KFD) and the proposal to " train "

him. The reason was that tribals have been complaining about him destroying

crops, allegedly killing people and being a lone elephant who loves " koda "

the illicit liquor brew, commonly manufactured in the Kottur region, he is

an animal who would fit the profile of a " rogue " , whether established as a

fact or not.

 

 

 

*There is, however, no data available with the Forest Department of an

official study or enquiry into the allegation of loss of crops and human

life this elephant may have caused. *

 

 

 

In the modern world, this has no more relevance than the practice of

" khedda " (wild elephant capture operations), which has since been banned by

the Indian Govt. decades ago.

 

*Several individual elephants have been severely maimed and injured

during the process of the kraal operations, which is similar to the

" phajaan " system of torture in Thailand *. The brutal training methods are

clearly in violation of Section 11 (1) clauses (a), (b), (e), (f), (h), &

(l) ; Section 3 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, India,1960.

Since there is no data and statistics to prove that this is a rogue

elephant, capturing and training of a CITES Schedule 1 species, is also

against Section 11 (1), (a) of WildLife Protection Act of India, 1972. This

section clearly stipulates that a Schedule 1 species cannot be captured

unless the animal has become dangerous to human life.

 

 

 

With a Government Order No. 7-5/2000 (PE) dated: 8.2.2005, individual

elephant capture has been stopped after the capture, brutal training and

eventual death of an elephant in the State of Chattisgarh, in Central

India, in 2004.

 

 

 

The videos and reports of wild elephant training - calves and adults - if

witnessed, are sure to break even the hardest of hearts! The animals are

brutalised to the point of physical and mental collapse and the violent

beatings by sticks, spears and ankush causes such damage that many do not

survive the process. The few who do survive always carry a great scar and

can be dangerous to man and mahout.

 

 

 

--Kerala captured an elephant in Wynad in 1995 which soon afterwards died in

the process of training.

 

--Karnataka's training of a calf caused its death in 2001.

--Chattisgarh captured an elephant, in 2004, that was witnessed on the media

and such was the outcry that the practice was discontinued by the Indian

Govt.

 

 

 

Though there are problems with the human-elephant conflict, there are many

other measures which can be put into place. A strategy to discourage the

number of brews in the Podiyakkala Kani tribal settlement range that are

attracting and will continue to attract wild elephants would greatly

benefit. Also, the elephant can be released in the larger landscape of the

Periyar- Agasthyamalai, which is sufficiently distant from the conflict

area. Land-use patterns and immediate compensations procedures are some

quick-relief measures.

 

 

 

Please appeal to their judgement and sense of fair play to release this

animal without further delay. Further holding it will cause massive,

irreparable damage to its psyche and body condition.

 

 

 

Thank you for your assistance. We are hoping that enough faxes and email CAN

make a difference!

 

 

 

Suparna Baksi-Ganguly

 

The Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation Center (WRRC), Bangalore – India