Many elephants stuck at various places in Kerala due to lockdown

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the lockdown call on March 24, it was not just people who got stuck at various places away from home, but many tuskers in Kerala too.

While an elephant rights activist said that at least 150 of the 500 odd captive elephants in Kerala might be stuck at various places away from their owners' place, elephant owners' representatives maintained that only around 50 could be stuck.

March and April are peak temple festivals season in Kerala and elephants are an integral part of the festivals. Hence, captive elephants used to have huge demand during this season and many would be on hectic transit from one festival location to the other in trucks.

As a result, when the PM's lockdown announcement came, many elephants were away from their owners' place and they are still stuck elsewhere. Animal rights activist V K Venkitachalam said that at least 150 elephants owned by persons in Kottayam, Pathanamthiita, Alappuzha and Ernakulam were held up in Thrissur district alone.

They are not getting proper and adequate food. However, Kerala Elephant Owners' Federation secretary K Sasikumar said that only around 50 elephants could be stuck at various places owing to lockdown

Are elephants pets or domestic animals?

A decision of Kerala government to sanction Rs 5 crore for providing food to domestic animals has been widely welcomed by animal lovers, even as it raised many eyebrows as elephants are mentioned as domestic animals in the order.

Animal rights activists pointed out that elephants are wild animals and the elephants possessed by individuals could be considered only as captive ones and not domestic animals or pets. Hence, the government order was a violation of the wildlife norms. Though it was good that elephants would also get food, it seems that the powerful lobby of elephant owners influenced the government to issue such an order as the elephant owners could not generate revenue by parading elephants at temple festivals this time.

A government official said that Kerala Forest Minister K Raju would be soon giving a clarification on the matter.