Kerala tusker rescued in Chikkamagaluru
A tusker was rescued by Chikkamagaluru territorial forest officials on Saturday night when mahouts were illegally transporting it from Kozhikode to Karnataka to shift timber in an estate. Temple elephants from Kerala are being routinely brought illegally by their owners to Karnataka, thereby abusing both the animal and the existing guidelines and laws.
Podma, the 33-ye
Published: 11th June 2018 03:59 AM | Last Updated: 11th June 2018 05:09 AM | A+A A-
The 33-year-old tusker Podma was being transported from Kozhikode without permission from the Chief Wildlife Wardens of both the states | G VEERESH
BENGALURU:A tusker was rescued by Chikkamagaluru territorial forest officials on Saturday night when mahouts were illegally transporting it from Kozhikode to Karnataka to shift timber in an estate. Temple elephants from Kerala are being routinely brought illegally by their owners to Karnataka, thereby abusing both the animal and the existing guidelines and laws.
Podma, the 33-year-old tusker, was being transported from Kozhikode without permission from the Chief Wildlife Wardens of both the states. Activists say there are still three more pachyderms from Kerala which have been deployed on timber logging operations in private estates in Chikkamagaluru. However, forest officials say they have no proper information about this.
Activists say in the last few months many captive elephants have died in Kerala after they were abused by their owners and made to work without a break in temples.Acting on a tip-off from wildlife conservationist D V Girish, the pachyderm and a truck were seized at Sitalayyanagiri-Pandaravalli Cross in Indavara Beat, Chikkamagaluru Range. The vehicle was on its way to Mullayyanagiri. Girish said, “They bring elephants from Kerala on the pretext of temple work. For the timber contractors, elephants are like earthmovers as they come cheap. For two days, Podma was made to travel standing continuously in a lorry without water or food. They have violated the Kerala Captive Elephants Rules, 2003, in toto.”
S L Shilpa, Range Forest Officer, Chikkamagaluru, told The New Indian Express, “The elephant was seized from the accused - Muneer, driver (Mallapuram district) and Manikantan, mahout (Kottayam district). They have been booked under 10 sections of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The accused are in our custody and the tusker is being taken care of at the deer park.”The tusker is from Assam and the owners are P Koya and P C Saidalikutty from Mallapuram. The accused were produced before the Chikkamagaluru JMFC court on Sunday and were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
