The Kerala High Court recently compared the lives of captive elephants to an “eternal Treblinka,” drawing a poignant comparison to the infamous Nazi extermination camps.

Paradox of Captive Elephants in India

• In India, elephants are revered as sacred symbols of wisdom and strength. However, privately-held captive elephants experience a stark contradiction to this image.

• These animals, used for religious purposes, entertainment, and tourism, often suffer immense cruelty. They are forced to behave in unnatural ways, subjected to isolation, and subjected to abusive training methods that break their spirit.
• Despite the high protection granted to elephants under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, they continue to be captured from the wild for life in captivity.

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Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024

• MoEFCC Introduced Rules for Captive Elephants: In an effort to regulate the misuse of captive elephants and curb illegal captures from the wild, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) introduced the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules in March 2024.
• Aim of these Rules: These rules are designed to facilitate the transport and transfer of elephants, including the procedure for transferring ownership.
• Concerns: However, the rules raise several concerns regarding their potential for misuse.
• Ambiguities in Ownership Transfer: When an owner can no longer maintain an elephant, ownership may be transferred, but there is no obligation for the transfer to be non-commercial. This opens the possibility for elephants to be traded as movable property, thus enabling further exploitation.
• Potential for Commercial Exploitation: The rules allow for the temporary transport of elephants, but there is no explicit requirement to justify the movement of privately owned elephants across state borders.
  • This could lead to the leasing of elephants for religious ceremonies, weddings, political rallies, and other commercial events, compromising their welfare and objectifying them as tools for generating income.

Cycle of Captive Elephants and the Role of Microchipping

• Data on Captive Elephants: As of January 2019, there were 2,675 documented captive elephants in India. Disturbingly, when these elephants die, they are often replaced by elephants captured from the wild.
• Microchipping of Elephants: Many captive elephants were microchipped as part of a 2002 initiative to track their ownership. However, there are reports that microchips are removed from deceased elephants and re-used in illegally captured wild elephants, allowing illicit captures to be legalized.
• No Rule on Destruction of Microchips: The Captive Elephant Rules do not require the removal and destruction of microchips from deceased elephants in the presence of forest officials.
• No Post-Mortem Report: Additionally, the rules do not mandate a post-mortem report when an elephant dies during transfer or transportation, creating a critical gap in monitoring and accountability.
• Perpetuating the Cycle: This system perpetuates the cycle of elephants in captivity. The rules also allow for the birth of elephant calves in captivity to be legally classified as owned captive elephants, further compounding the issue.

Reform and Protection

• Birth Control Measures: To break this cycle, there is a need for mandates to implement humane, non-invasive birth control measures for elephants in private custody, which would prevent the continued expansion of captive elephant populations.
• Use of Electronic Elephants: Additionally, a shift away from using live elephants in religious ceremonies, processions, and tourism is crucial. Alternatives such as electronic elephants could be explored, with support from civil society, temple committees, and the government.

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Conclusion

Only through comprehensive reforms can India hope to reconcile its reverence for elephants with the need for their protection and humane treatment.

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