Aane Mane jumbos to be set free

MADIKERI: Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden of Karnataka has passed an order to confiscate the seven elephants owned by Aane Mane Foundation in Dubare near Kushalnagar. The seven elephants have been ordered to be radio collared by the foundation and will later be translocated to the elephant camps at Bandipur and Nagarahole.

The notification dated August 12, 2021 states that the Kodagu Circle Conservator of Forests had submitted a report on the captive elephants owned by Prajna Chowta of Aane Mane Foundation near Dubare, stating that the elephants frequently raided crops and posed threat to the lives of locals. 

It mentions that several complaints from villagers, police department, Sirangala Gram Panchayat and Somwarpet Taluk Panchayat have been received against the foundation’s captive elephants and no effective measures were taken by Prajna to control the conflict.

A final notice in this regard is said to have been forwarded to Prajna on June 5 by Kushalnagar RFO even as the former is said to have agreed to radio collar the elephants and translocate them to forests. The notification also states that the ownership license of two elephants - Hiranya (43) and Mala Devi (34) have not been renewed by Prajna since 2002.

However, an official order in this regard has now been passed by the PCCF.