Just four days ahead of Thrissur Pooram, Project Elephant under the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has asked the State to give an action taken report on instances of cruelty towards elephants during the last pooram.
The Ministry, in a letter to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (WL) & Chief Wildlife Warden, has directed that steps be taken to ensure enforcement of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972; guidelines for Care and Management of Captive Elephants, 2008; and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 to prevent harassment of elephants.
The order comes in response to an investigation by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India that found cruelty towards elephants in the 2017 edition of Thrissur Pooram, when elephants with open wounds, painful abscesses, cracked nails, impaired vision, and lameness were allegedly paraded.
PETA notes this is a positive step but only an end to elephant misuse can eliminate the abuse altogether.
“Mahouts were caught hitting the animals with ankushes (illegal weapons with a sharp metal hook at one end) and wooden sticks. Many elephants were denied access to drinking water, some were forced to walk and stand on hot tarred roads for hours with no shade, and many were hobbled with short, heavy chains that severely restricted their movement,” its report said.
“Thrissur Pooram is a spectacle of suffering for the elephants which are chained, beaten, and paraded with open wounds,” says PETA India CEO Manilal Valliyate.
“Kerala authorities must act in response to the flouting of basic regulations. Elephants are forced to live in temples instead of their jungle homes, and to take part in loud, chaotic processions is inherently cruel. Temple authorities would do well to recognise the growing public concern over elephant welfare and switch to using mechanical elephants instead,” he said.
He says the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 prohibits capturing an elephant. Yet many captive elephants are thought to have been caught illegally in the wild. As many as 289 elephants are being held in Kerala without valid ownership certificates.
