KOZHIKODE: That 113 wild elephants died in a year in Kerala is a cause for grave concern considering the state has a small patch of forest land, said Thrissur-based Heritage Animal Task Force (HATF) secretary VK Venkatachalam. “The state doesn’t have a scientific and transparent protocol for assessing the number of elephants in its forests, nature of diseases, and death and its causes,” he said.
Venkatachalam pointed out that the forest department had a globally accredited laboratory at Sultan Bathery where the exact cause of death of elephants that had digestive issues can be gauged. “But even forest officers are not fully aware of this facility. The lab has the kit to detect TB among elephants. It is the lone such facility in Asia.
Over the past four years, 12 captive elephants have died of TB. But our own state-of-the-art facilities were not used to their optimum efficiency.
There exists a certain non-transparency in all matters,” he alleged.The animal rights activist said viscera samples were not sent to the accredited Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad for detailed tests whenever an elephant died in the state.