An earthmover simulated into a caparisoned elephant led a march here on Monday organised to register protest against some of the recommendations made in ‘Gajah'—a report submitted by the Elephant Task Force (ETF) to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in August.
The organisation, calling itself the Pooram-Perunaal Celebration Committee, said in a statement that the protests pertained to the recommendations under “compassionate care for captive elephants” under chapter seven of ‘Gajah'. Though the organisers had stated at a press conference earlier that 52 elephants would participate in the protest march, the move was withdrawn because of uncertainty over securing police permit for such a march.
Last month, Kerala Gaja Paripalana Sanghom had announced a protest march here against ‘Gajah' by parading 70 elephants. But on grounds of public safety, the police banned the march. The police stand was widely welcomed by animal lovers.
It is in this backdrop that another protest march for the same purpose was organised on Monday. Because of the apprehension that the police would ban the march if elephants were paraded in it, the organisers simulated the compact excavator of an earthmover into an elephant by decorating it with a ‘nettippattom' (head-dress for tuskers) and made two persons sit on it with ornamental umbrellas to give the look of an elephant participating in a religious ritual.
‘Gajah' states that while the ETF favours complete phasing out of elephants from commercial captivity in the long run, for the present, it aims to bring the upkeep of captive elephants to the highest standards by taking into consideration that elephants are integral to culture, religions and livelihood in many parts of the country.
But the protesters alleged that on the basis of the ETF report, the Union Government was planning to ban participation of elephants in religious events. They said elephants were an integral part of most rituals in Kerala.
On the other hand, animal lovers say getting elephants to participate in temple rituals and elephant parades organised as part of festivals are recent introductions. Captive elephant owners promote it as a commercial activity, they further allege.
