The High court on Saturday upheld the Kerala government’s order enforcing a ban on transferring elephants from other States into Kerala. The order was delivered by Justice C N Ramachandran Nair while dismissing a petition filed by Elephant Owners’ Association challenging the ban order.
 
The association argued that there was a dearth of elephants in Kerala whereas its local demand was going up. However, the government counsel countered this saying that the State’s pachyderm population was saturated. The increasing influx of elephants from outside was causing a general increase in violent incidents involving the animal. The court directed that the captive elephants welfare rules should be strictly enforced in the State. The judge clarified that there would be no bar on transfer of elephants within the State.
 
It may be noted that there had been many violent incidents of elephants attacking mahouts and the public in recent months with several of them resulting in deaths. One reason for the troubles was cited was the change in the character of the elephants with Bihar becoming a prominent supplier of elephants.
 
Coincidentally, the order came on a day when the State government launched its State-level camp for implanting a microchip in them here. From three-year-old Unnikuttan to 95-year-old Gangadharan, 13 elephants queued up for the purpose. The chip which would replace registration papers is placed under the skin using a hypodermal needle. There are an estimated 900 captive elephants in the State.
 
Forest Department chief wildlife warden P S Varghese said the drive was aimed at getting every captive elephant registered. This was also expected to help them prepare health cards for every elephant so that the animal’s condition would be made known whenever required. The chip will provide all details including the elephant's character, its owner and mahout, the location where it is stationed and the physical details of the animal, including the length of its tusk and body.
 
The new technology will make it impossible for elephant owners to cheat authorities as many of them allegedly have only one registration paper for several elephants.