Relocate 3 elephants from private camp to government rehab centre: Madras HC

CHENNAI: Three

elephants

, originally owned by

Kanchi Mutt

but put under the care of

private

NGOs, will now be taken to a government-run elephant

camp

in

Trichy

, thanks to an order of the Madras high court.


A division bench of Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice N Seshasayee directed the Tamil Nadu forest department to translocate the elephants – Sandya, Jayanthi and Indumathi – which were owned by the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in Kancheepuram. The order was passed on a PIL seeking closure of illegal elephant shelters across the state.

The elephants were being used by the mutt to conduct rituals like gaja pooja and other ceremonies, after obtaining prior approval for possession and maintenance of the elephants.

The PIL said members of Tree Foundation India and Wildlife Rescue and

Rehabilitation Centre

of Bangalore, in the guise of eradicating cruelty to animals, took the elephants away from the mutt and kept them in their private camp without the consent of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department or other government authorities. Alleging that the NGOs were collecting donations from various countries on the pretext of maintaining the animals in their private camp, the PIL requested the court to direct the authorities to take action and close such unauthorised elephant camps in the state.

The bench directed the authorities to rescue the animals from the private camp and

relocate

them to the elephant rehabilitation camp in Trichy in four weeks. The court also directed that proper medical and other care must be ensured to the elephants in the Trichy camp.


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