The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), eastern region, under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has sought reports from the forest departments of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura as part of an inquiry into illegal transfer and trading of captive elephants from North East India to Kerala.

As per the communication issued to the Chief Wildlife Wardens (CWW) of Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh, the WCCB has noted that it has received a complaint regarding the criminal nexus of elephant procurement agents, illegal commercial trading and transfer of captive elephants from North East India to Kerala. The WCCB headquarters has directed the eastern region to constitute a committee for detailed inquiry and submit a report.

In the letter to the CWW of three states, the WCCB has sought details on various aspects, including the number of cases registered against Omanakuttan Pillai, a Kerala native, and his associates during the past five years in elephant-related cases. Details regarding the number of transit permits and permission issued for transportation, including the inter-state movement of captive elephants by the forest department, number of cases in respect of illegal procurement, transportation, commercial trade and transfer, number of cases detected by the forest department regarding illegal capture of elephants from the forest have been sought from three states.

The inquiry has been initiated based on a complaint filed by V K Venkitachalam, Secretary, Heritage Animal Task Force. In the complaint, Venkitachalam has cited that the Kerala elephant owners and festival committees are openly raising funds to buy elephants, in complete defiance of the commercial embargo reiterated in law.

“We are very concerned because as per documentation done by us from 2018 onwards over 175 captive elephants have died in Kerala, majority of them under the torture and stress of the Pooram season. This has only exacerbated the demand for more elephants with very little change in their welfare on the ground. The 2024 rules are being heralded by Kerala Elephant Owners as a way to bring new elephants, which is not the designated purpose of the rules,” the complaint cites.

According to the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024, the Chief Wild Life Warden of a state shall permit the transfer only if there is an ownership certificate for the elephant proposed for transfer. The transfer of the elephant may be permitted only if the owner is no longer in a position to maintain the elephant or the elephant will have a better upkeep than in the present circumstances or the CWW deems it fit and proper in the circumstances of the case for better upkeep of the elephant. The rule also mandates that no transfer of an elephant shall be permissible unless a genetic profile of the elephant has been entered in the electronic monitoring application of the MoEF & CC.

Venkitachalam said these conditions are being repeatedly flouted for illegal transfer. Although the conditions are strictly mandated in the rules, in the wake of repeated complaints, the Project Elephant division under the Union Ministry issued a notification on August 21 reinforcing the condition of genetic profiling of elephants for transfer and directing all heads of the state forest departments to ensure the compliance of these rules.