The Forest and Wildlife Department will constitute State- and district-level Captive Elephant Welfare Committees.
The move follows a directive issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
A letter issued by the Inspector General of Forests attached to MoEF on November 4, 2014, had directed the State government to constitute Captive Elephant Welfare Committee with representatives from the Animal Welfare Board of India, Central Zoo Authority, and Forest Department.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) [PCCF] forwarded a proposal for the constitution of State- and district-level task forces on captive elephants on November 6, 2014, to MoEF, according to official sources.
As per the proposal, the Additional Chief Secretary, Forests and Wildlife, Kerala, and PCCF (Wildlife) will be the chairman and vice chairman respectively of the State-level committee.
The Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Biodiversity Cell) will be the convener and the Director, State Animal Husbandry Department; a veterinary expert attached to Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University; and a representative each from the Wildlife Institute of India, the Animal Welfare Board of India, Central Zoo Authority, and the Project Elephant of MoEF; will be the members.
The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) and the District Veterinary Officer concerned will be the chairman and vice chairman respectively of the district-level task force.
A representative each of the organisation of elephant owners, a Forest or Forest Veterinary Officer nominated by the DFO, and a member of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will be the members.
Rescue centres
The State-level committee will monitor the functioning of the district-level task forces. It will also examine the functioning of rescue centres and elephant camps attached to the Forest Department, besides exploring the possibility of setting up more such centres.
The district-level task forces will conduct inspections and appraisals of each captive elephant facility to check abuse and overwork of animals. The district-level panel will send reports to the Additional PCCF (Biodiversity Cell) for further action.
The task force will check inter-State sale of elephants under various guises, and propose methods to prevent it. It will also determine the ownership details and source of acquisition of captive elephants in Kerala, besides creation of State-wide list of captive elephants.
