A day after The Hindu reported on the plight of the elephant Chathapuram Babu suffering from the ill-treatment by mahouts and its owner, elephant lovers approached the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the National Board for Wildlife seeking directives to the State government and the district administration to curb the growing instances of torture of captive elephants and bulls used for races in Palakkad district.
In his petition, V.K. Venkitachalam of Thrissur-based Heritage Animal Task Force alleged that the largest number of cruelties against animals was being reported from Palakkad.
“Even in the case of Chathapuram Babu, there was serious dereliction of duty on the part of Police, Forest, and Revenue Departments. No step for taking the animal to a government-sponsored elephant camp was taken,” he said in the petition.
“It was after the intervention of the Biodiversity Conservator of Kerala that the Palakkad Divisional Forest officer sent in veterinarians with medicines,” Mr. Venkitachalam said.
Wildlife Protection Society of India’s S. Guruvayurappan said that elephants and bulls were exploited in Palakkad with the connivance of officials.
Chariot
Mr. Venkitachalam said that it was only last week that an elephant at the Ayiloor Akhilandeswara temple near Nemmara was forced to push a chariot weighing 3,000 kg as part of the Thiruvathira festival.
Banned by law
“The Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, specifically states that no captive elephant must be forced to pull or push any material having a weight of above 1,000 kg. Even though we had complained to the Nemmara Forest Divisional Officer, no action was taken,” he said.
“On January 2, a bull race was held at Thrithala, violating the Supreme Court order that had imposed a blanket ban on any races involving cattle, ox, or any four-legged animal. But the District Collector did not initiate any action against the organisers,” Mr. Venkitachalam said.
‘Largest number of cruelties reported from Palakkad’
‘Bull race violating Supreme Court order at Thrithala’
