Release caged tusker to wild: greens

A day after a tusker captured from Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary after applying tranquilizer shot and kept it in a kraal at Muthanga, wildlife activists on Wednesday urged the authorities to release the elephant to the forest.

In a petition to Director, Project Elephant, secretary of the Thrissur-based Heritage Animal Task Force V.K. Venkitachalam said if a wild elephant was kept in captivity, it would not accept the fodder supplied by the Forest Officials.

Moreover, the physical stress due to the attack by trained elephants during its travel from the forest area to the lorry would lead to reduced food intake.

Sudden stoppage of the animal’s movement would also affect its digestion adversely, Mr. Venkitachalam said. Moreover, the physical torture on wild elephant was a violation of various provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.

Two decades ago, a wild elephant had been captured in a similar manner and later it was caged, but the Forest Department decided to release it into the wild following the protest from wildlife activists across the world, he said.

Another elephant, captured in 1995, died in captivity. Hence, it is not advisable to keep wild elephants in captivity, he added.