KOCHI: Imagine the Thrissur Pooram without the grand parade of caparisoned elephants carrying dazzling parasols waving their ears to the rhythm of the panchavadyam. The magnificent spectacle that merges the state’s rich cultural heritage and spiritual essence may become history in another decade.
For, the number of captive elephants in the state is fast declining and most of the popular jumbos are closely approaching the advanced age.
The number of captive elephants in the state, which stood at 900 in 2008, has declined to 448 with the state losing 25 elephants on average every year. In 2018, when the forest department conducted a census, the state had 521 captive elephants. In 2021, 29 elephants died while the state lost 12 jumbos till July this year.In Kerala, where elephants are revered as demigods, there are jumbos more popular than film stars and they enjoy huge fan base in the virtual space.
The Kerala Elephant Owners Federation has decided to approach Union Minister for Environment and Forest Bhupendra Yadav seeking to make amendments in the Wildlife Protection Act to allow ownership and transfer of elephants.“We will meet all MPs from Kerala in person and convince them. With their support, we will meet the minister and prime minister. Our president and Pathanapuram MLA K B Ganesh Kumar will lead the delegation. We are planning to submit the memorandum during the current Parliament session itself. Elephant parade has been an integral part of our tradition and temple rituals and we expect intervention from the Centre similar to the one in the case of Jallikattu. We have already sought the support of the state government in this regard,” said federation general secretary P Sasikumar.
“We had 18 elephants during 1996-98 period but the number has declined to four now. Four of our elephants -- Karnan, Kesavan, Gajendran and Rajan -- died in the past two years. There were 58 elephants in Palakkad district around six years ago and we have only 28 remaining. We provide the best care to the elephants and our elephants have been popular across the state,” said elephant owner Mangalamkunnu M A Haridas.
There were reports that the parliamentary committee on environment led by former Union minister Jairam Ramesh will recommend some amendments in the Wildlife Protection Act to allow transfer of ownership and transport of elephants.However, the panel has recommended stringent rules for surrender of captive elephants and a ban on transfer and transport of live elephants by a person having an ownership certificate.
Actor-politician Suresh Gopi had made a plea to relax wildlife protection rules and allow ownership of elephants during his farewell speech in the Rajya Sabha in April.Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan had promised to address the issue of dwindling number of captive elephants while attending ‘Anayoottu’, the elephant feeding ceremony, in Thrissur on July 17.Cochin Devaswom Board president V Nandakumar said the devaswom is struggling to conduct temple rituals due to non-availability of elephants.
“Can we think about a Thrissur Pooram without the magnificent elephants? It is a part of our tradition and we should keep it alive. We have lost most of the popular elephants in the past few years.,” he said.
The government should allow donation of elephants to temple and transfer of ownership, added Nandakumar.
“The news about the proposal to relax the wildlife protection rules had triggered a nationwide outrage. The parliamentary committee has proposed stringent rules to curb transfer of ownership of elephants. The claims about tradition and rituals are frivolous. We cannot allow torture of elephants in the name of tradition,” said Heritage Animal Task Force secretary V K Venkitachalam
“The Sonepur elephant fair was banned years ago. Capturing wild elephants has been prohibited. So, it is difficult to purchase elephants from other states. The law is common in all states and there is little chance of bringing amendments in the Wildlife Protection Act. However, the government should allow transfer of ownership of elephants as the ban is facilitating illegal transactions,” said elephant expert and former director of Kerala Forest Research Institute Dr P S Easa.
“Kerala has a rich cultural tradition and parading of elephants has been an integral part of temple festivities for centuries. The Arattupuzha Pooram has a tradition of 1,400 years and Thrissur Pooram has a history of 230 years. Animal activists who allege torture ignore the fact that a majority of the owners give better care and attention to the jumbos. The activists want to end the tradition of elephant parade and they are funded by some vested interests. The number of captive elephants has come down to 448 of which only 300 are paraded at temple festivals,” said K Mahesh, an elephant owner. The elephant owners in Kerala, in association with devaswoms, have formed Elephant Welfare Trust of India at Chittanda near Wadakkanchery for treatment and care of elephants.