KOCHI: To prevent cruelty to elephants during parades, the Kerala High Court ruled on Thursday that organisers of any festival intending to exhibit a captive elephant must apply to the District Committee at least one month prior to the event.
The court also clarified that the number of elephants allowed in the parade will depend on the available space, ensuring adherence to the minimum distance requirements set by the court within the temple or any designated area.
Furthermore, no elephant processions through public roads will be permitted between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.
The court held that no organiser or Devaswom shall permit the deployment of any squads which go by the name ‘Elephant Squads’ in any festival or exhibition where elephants are being paraded. The court also prohibited the use of any ‘capture belt’ or such other crude and inhuman method of capturing elephants that may run amok or otherwise misbehave.
The court also recommended including a person nominated by the Animal Welfare Board of India among Animal Welfare Organisations in the District as a member of the committee.
The application to the committee should include the name and identification details of the elephant proposed to be exhibited and also the date/dates on which such exhibition is proposed; the facilities for temporary tethering of elephants brought for exhibition and the route through which processions including elephants are to be conducted and the timing for the same.
The application should also include the elephant's tour schedule covering a period 10 days prior to the proposed exhibition and 5 days after the proposed exhibition. The District Committee shall ensure that the elephant is not compelled to travel and be exhibited without sufficient rest periods between two exhibitions. Such a rest period shall not be less than three days (excluding any time taken for transportation). A health/fitness certificate showing that the elephant is not sick, injured, weak, disabled, or otherwise unfit for exhibition and information relating to the elephant's normal musth period should also be produced with the application.
The committee should grant permission only after satisfying that the elephant has a temporary tethering facility. The temporary tethering site shall be clean and shall provide a healthy environment with sufficient shade for the elephants during the rest period. If the roofing is provided using metal or other unbreakable material, gunny bags, grass, palm leaves, etc., must be used to cover it to keep the shelter cool.
The District Committee shall consider the availability of space inside temples or other places where the exhibition or parading is proposed and will ensure that no permission is granted unless the venue where the exhibitions or parading of elephants is proposed has sufficient space to parade the elephants with -- a minimum distance of 3 meters between two elephants, a minimum distance of 5 meters from the elephant to the flambeau or any other source of fire, a minimum distance of 8 meters from the elephant to the public and any percussion display.
Necessary barricades are placed between the public and elephants and minimum distance of 100 meters is maintained from any place where fireworks are used and the place where the elephants are exhibited.
Other conditions:
*An elephant shall not be exhibited for a continuous period of more than 3 hours.
*No elephant shall be made to walk for more than 30 Km a day for transportation. All transportation above 30 Km shall be made by vehicle approved for the purpose. The transportation of the elephant shall not be made for more than 125 Km in a day by any means.
*No elephant shall be transported for more than 6 hours in a vehicle in a day and the speed of the vehicle shall not exceed 25 KM per hour while transporting an elephant.
*The officials of the Motor Vehicles Department shall ensure that Speed Governors are fixed on all vehicles engaged in the transport of elephants.
*An elephant shall be ensured at least 8 hours of rest during a continuous period of 24 hours.