Elephants continue to be illegally paraded and engaged in work, secretary of the Heritage Animal Task Force V.K. Venkitachalam has said.
In a petition submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Kerala, he cited several recent incidents to state his case.
No water, fodder, rest
An elephant which ran amok at Mallappily on October 30 had been tortured during pulling of logs, without giving proper water, fodder, and rest. The elephant attacked its mahout, who was hospitalised.
Examination of records pertaining to the elephant, having a microchip implanted on its body, had revealed that the animal was brought to Kerala from Bihar without permission.
The officials concerned had not given permission to the present owners to engage the pachyderm for work. He alleged that the authorities had failed to take action against the offenders.
He said 11 elephants were paraded illegally inside a temple compound at Thuravoor in Alappuzha on October 29. The rules did not permit parading of more than three elephants at a place of worship surrounded by compound wall.
The elephants were made to stand in chains for more than six hours with their bodies touching each other. Intense heat had emanated from torches kept near them. All the 11 elephants were brought from other districts of Kerala without receiving the statutory permission from the offices of assistant conservators of forest, he said.
He blamed the authorities, managers of temple festivals, elephant contractors, and mahouts for the situation.
Several mahouts and a woman were killed by captive elephants in Kerala this year.
