(IN): State bid to end ban on wild jumbo-trapping

[Guest guest]

WE HAVE TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO ENSURE THAT THE BAN IS NOT LIFTED.

The state and a section of those with vested interests involved are

desperately lobbying with the authorities in the Centre to get this BAN

lifted for quite sometime now.

 

Azam

 

State bid to end ban on wild jumbo-trapping

Prabin Kalita, TNN 20 August 2009, 10:30pm IST

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/guwahati/State-bid-to-end-ban-on-wi\

ld-jumbo-trapping/articleshow/4916176.cms

 

GUWAHATI: Assam has asked the Centre to lift a 1982 ban on mela �shikar�, a

traditional way of trapping wild jumbos with the help of domesticated

elephants.

" We want the Centre to withdraw the ban so that we can acquire wild

elephants and domesticate them for government duties, " said state forest

minister Rockybul Hussain on Thursday.

 

The jumbos are needed for carrying guards and tourists in wildlife

sanctuaries, transporting EVMs and polling officials to remote areas.

Besides, trapping wild pachyderms will also help contain the man-elephant

conflict that has so far claimed 23 lives this year. " We are seeking

permission from the Centre to revive mela shikar, but have not received any

response from Delhi yet, " Hussain added.

 

The mela shikar' method involves noosing a wild elephant from the back of a

trained tusker. The capture of wild pachyderms was banned in India in 1982

after they were brought under the Schedule I species of the Wildlife

Protection Act, 1972, which guarantees them highest protection. Prior to

this, the Indian elephant was included in Schedule-II (Part I) of the Act

under which they were granted the status of " Special Game " and could be

killed or captured under licence as well as traded commercially.

 

According to the 2008 census, there are 5,281 wild elephants in the state.

In 2002, the census counted the population at 5,246. On the other hand,

there are about 1,290 domesticated and trained elephants owned by

individuals across the state. But, after the Supreme Court ban on timber

felling in 1994, the jumbos employed for the purpose were rendered jobless.

With no work, these elephants became more of a burden for their owners.

Hence, many owners reportedly sold them off illegally to buyers in Bihar's

Sonepur and the temples of South India.

 

Project Elephant director A N Prasad said there were reports of domesticated

elephants being taken out of the state on transit permits for a limited

period of time. Hussain said many of these owners cannot take care of their

elephants because of high costs of maintenance. " There is also an embargo on

individuals selling their elephants. We want this ban to go, too, so that we

can have more elephants at our disposal, " the forest minister signed off.

 

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