With instances of captive elephants being unauthorisedly used for rides, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) is intervening to regulate the practice.
The board, which had written to the State Forest Department, will once again take up the issue with the authorities, said S. Vinodkumar, Secretary-in-charge, of the board, Chennai.
Incidentally, a woman tourist was killed by an elephant at Idukki on Monday, as the animal reportedly stepped over her.
Elephant safaris are being offered at Munnar, Mattuppetti, Kumili, and Thekkady. The animals are made to carry visitors for rides of 30 and 60 minutes duration. Packages including elephant bathing and showering and five-minute-long photo sessions with animals are also offered.
Though the board, said Mr. Vijayakumar, had written to the State authorities last year following reports of captive elephants being used for safaris without registration under the Performing Animal Rules, the State authorities didn’t respond. The legislation mandates registration of any animal used for such acts, said Mr. Vinodkumar. A safari operator of Thekkady admitted that most of the elephants used for the rides were not registered under the rules. The welfare association of the safari operators had promised to take up the issue, said an operator.
M.N. Jayachandran, president of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), said that over 30 elephants were used in the district for safaris. The society had been raising the issue of unauthorised use of animals for such parades. There were complaints of ill-treatment of animals, said Mr. Jayachandran.
Biju P. Mathew, who runs an elephant ride at a 10-acre plantation in Anavachal, Thekkady, has deployed nine elephants for the ride. On holidays, around 300 people opt for elephant rides. During the ride, no person other than the mahouts are permitted to come near the elephants.
The access to safari route is also closed when the animals carry the guests as a safety measure, he said.
The Forest Department had earlier come up to prevent tour operators exploiting the visitors and put up a board exhibiting the rates for elephant safaris at Thekkady. It was following complaints of some agents and operators fleecing visitors that the department intervened and publicised the rates.
A senior Forest official said that the department had nothing to do with the safaris. The onus of enforcement of the Performing Animal Rules is with the SPCAs and district collectors, he said.
