A two minutes and 35 seconds ecotourism promotion short film, Explore Pathanamthitta , brought out by the Tourism Department has raked up a controversy with various quarters terming it a negative campaign that has miserably failed to deliver the actual message to its target group. The content of the short film too has come in for severe criticism.
Violation of rule
Meanwhile, the Thrissur-based Heritage Animal Task Force (HATF) has moved the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) alleging violation of the Performing Animals Registration Rule-2001 by the Kerala Tourism by using elephants having no ownership certificate in the film.
In a petition to the AWBI Secretary in Chennai, HATF secretary V.K. Venkitachalam accused the Tourism Department of illegally using elephants sans ownership certificates for the film and posting the same on the official website.
According to Mr. Venkitachalam, though the Kerala Tourism Department had applied for a pre-shoot certificate from AWBI, the latter insisted that the department produce ownership certificates of the pachyderms to be paraded in the film.
Ownership row
However, citing a letter of the Konni Divisional Forest Officer, the Tourism Department maintained that the ownership of the elephants was vested with the Kerala Forest Department which could very well keep elephants with out having any ownership certificate.
But AWBI further insisted on the ownership certificate.
Mr. Venkitachalam said that the Wildlife Protection Act-1972 actually contained no provision empowering any State Forest Department to keep elephants without ownership certificate.
Call for ban
He alleged that the Tourism Department had shot the film in blatant violation of the laws. He said this type of violation of law by the State Tourism Department must be sternly dealt with and a ban must be imposed on further shooting and screening of such films involving elephants.
This incident also highlights the fact that the Kerala Forest Department do not have ownership certificate for any of the 29 elephants in its possession at the Karulai, Konni, Kodanadu, and Kottur elephant camps, he alleged.
