KOCHI: It seems the money spinning jumbo industry is throwing the Captive Elephant Maintenance Rules to wind in collusion with fraudulent vets to get the maximum out of the present market dynamics in the state’s festival industry by parading elephants in musth. The Forest Department has written to the Veterinary Council of India requesting action against the vets who have issued mandatory fitness certificates to captive elephants without examining them.
According to sources, recently the department had written a letter to the Veterinary Council of India requesting it to take action against a veterinary doctor from Mavelikkara in Alappuzha after the Forest Department officers found he had issued fitness certificate to elephants without conducting a physical inspection.
K J Martin Lowel, Assistant Conservator of Forest (Social Forestry), Ernakulam, said there have been a lot of instances in which the unscrupulous vets issued fitness certificates to elephants without checking their health parameters. “The mandate of the Social Forestry Department is to check if the elephant brought for the festival procession has documents mandated by the Kerala Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules. But we have found that even elephants in musth and having physical disabilities were provided fitness certificates clearing them to be featured in the temple processions. This has to be stopped,” he said.
V K Venkitachalam, secretary of Heritage Animal Task Force, said the fitness certificates issued by the vets have to be verified by the Forest Department officers and the tahsildar. It has to be ratified by the District Collector before final permission is given to parade the elephants. But these rules are often openly flouted by the officers and elephant contractors since there are a lot of fraudulent vets who are ready to provide fitness certificate to elephants without taking note of the physical parameters of the animal.
The Kerala Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules-2012 prohibits parading of elephants showing musth condition, injuries, wounds, fatigue and those who are pregnant. But if one does a recce of the festival venues of Kerala, elephants with injuries, including blind ones, can be spotted.
Besides, the elephant contractors in collusion with vets administer drugs or intoxicants to suppress musth, a periodic condition in male elephants characterised by highly aggressive behaviour and accompanied by a sharp rise in reproductive hormones.
This is done widely during the festival season since elephants showing symptoms of musth can’t be paraded in the processions according to rule book. It’s a money spinning business and businessmen are only bothered about the money earned from the trade, said experts. The Forest Department has begun steps to appoint vets in each district. Once it is completed, the scenario will change, they said.