(IN): Kerala bars captive elephants from Sonepur

November 6, 2009

*Kerala bars captive elephants from Sonepur*The Hindu

Ignatius Pereira

The Hindu Captive elephants in Kollam district of Kerala. A good number of

them have been brought from Bihar in the past. Photo: C. Suresh Kumar

KOLLAM, November 6, 2009:

Captive elephants bought at the ongoing Sonepur mela in Bihar will not be

permitted to enter Kerala. The Kerala Forest Department has been put on

alert following an intelligence report that 20 elephant owners from the

State are visiting Sonepur.

Kerala’s Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden)

K.P. Ouseph has written to his Bihar counterpart Basheer Ahmed Khan not to

issue permits for transport of elephants bought at the mela to Kerala. Mr.

Ouseph told The Hindu that Mr. Khan’s response was positive.

The month-long mela is Asia’s biggest cattle fair organised annually during

the Hindu month of Kartik, usually November. Cattle apart, captive

elephants, horses and other animals and birds are sold at the fair.

In his letter to Mr. Khan, Mr. Ouseph said the State government had issued

an order (GO No. 38/2008 dated June 20, 2008) that “no sale or transfer in

respect of an elephant brought to the State from any other State after

August 18, 2007 will be permitted.” The order was issued consequent to a

High Court order of August 18, 2007.

Mr. Ouseph informed Mr. Khan that Kerala has enough captive elephants and it

does not intend relaxing the order in the immediate future. It has also not

issued any No-Objection Certificate to anyone for transfer of captive

elephants.

Mr. Khan was also requested to direct his subordinates to restrain purchase

of elephants at Sonepur for being transferred to Kerala.

But there was a possibility that elephants could be purchased and permits

taken for transporting them to any of the neighbouring States before being

smuggled to Kerala, Mr. Ouseph said. So the alert was issued. The Forest

Department would also rely on tip-offs and other information to trace

smuggled elephants, and such elephants would be confiscated. As per official

records, Kerala has 695 captive elephants.

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