KOCHI: The Forest Department has decided to register a case against the veterinary doctor who issued a fitness certificate to an injured elephant paraded at a temple festival last week.According to officers, a meeting of the District Captive Elephant Coordination Committee convened by Ernakulam District Collector K Muhammed Y Safirulla has entrusted Anaz N A, assistant conservator, Social Forestry, Ernakulam, to initiate action against the Kochi-based veterinary doctor for allegedly issuing a bogus fitness certificate to the animal. The direction was based on a report by the assistant veterinary officer with the Forest Department, which pointed to a misrepresentation of facts in the fitness certificate.
"A case will be registered against the veterinary doctor who issued the fitness certificate to elephant Kuttisankaran under the provisions of the Wildlife Act and other relevant laws," an officer said. The tusker, owned by a Thrissur native, had a deep wound on one of its hind limps but was paraded at the Pattupurakkavu temple in Kakkanad. On an alert by the volunteers of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a forest team examined the animal and issued a warning against parading the sick elephant.
The official warning, however, was defied when the animal was paraded during the festival the same day. The department has already approached the Kerala State Veterinary Council against the veterinary doctor.
According to the District Collector, only the forest veterinary officer in Kodanad is mandated to issue fitness certificates for elephants during the current festival season. The meeting also imposed a ban on shifting of elephants from one location to another between 6 am and 6 pm.