JOIN USThe Karnataka government told the High Court on Tuesday that the elephants proposed to be sent to Madhya Pradesh did not fall under the category of wildlife, as they were trained and captive.
In an affidavit, the government told the court that the elephants were not being sold, but some of them were only being transferred for management of Madhya Pradesh’s tiger reserves. This did not violate the purpose of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, it said during the hearing of a petition by Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, a City-based animal activist forum.
The State dismissed the charges that 26 elephants would be translocated to Madhya Pradesh. It said only 11 jumbos would be transferred.
“Among the three males and eight females selected by the Madhya Pradesh Forest department, six are from Ramapura camp of Bandipur, three from Dubare and two from Hebbala and Murkal camps of Nagarhole tiger reserves,” the affidavit said.
On the petitioners’ contention that the elephants would not survive the climate of Madhya Pradesh, the State said that it was factually wrong as elephants thrived in the Central Indian state.
“Even today, elephants visit some of the parks such as Shahdol, Annupur and Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Madhya Pradesh. It has taken good care of the elephants in its camps,” the State submitted.
The 11 elephants would be sent to the tiger reserves of Panna, Satpura, Kanha, Bandavgarh and Pench.
The State said that the decision to transfer elephants followed a request by the chief wildlife warden of that state and that the jumbos would be used to monitor the tiger reserves, as they were the only possible mode of transport during monsoon.
The State submitted that the transfer was at present put on hold by the wildlife division of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The MoEF has sought a detailed report regarding the transfer of animals.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna directed the State to submit the report filed by it.