Violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. on transfer of animals
Picture used for representational purpose. (Photo: DC/File)
Thiruvananthapuram: This is in clear violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. Section 43 on the regulation of transfer of animal clearly states (1) No person having in his possession a captive animal, in respect of which he has a certificate of ownership, shall transfer by way of sale or offer for sale or by any other mode of consideration of commercial nature, such animal.
So how did Inasu become Krishnankutty in the data book? Sources said this case was only the tip of the iceberg. Since elephants cannot be sold legally, the modus operandi is to legalise the clandestine sale by issuing data books making the buyer the de facto owner.
They alleged that there were serious irregularities in the data books issued to over 100 elephants and only a detailed probe by an independent agency could bring the truth out. “The current market rate of an elephant is Rs 45 lakh and for each clandestine sale the 'reward’ for top officials is Rs 3 to Rs 4 lakh,’’ said a senior official.
Wildlife Warden reacts
Chief Wildlife Warden G.Harikumar said there could be some lapses but the matter was not serious. On being asked how the name of an owner clearly mentioned in the Ownership Certificate could be changed in the data book and that too in violation of Section 43 of the Wildlife Protection Act, all he said was, “ The ownership certificate is a legal document and the data book was introduced for the headcount of elephants.’’
Sources countered the Wildlife Warden’s argument saying that even the data book was a legal document. Section 9 of the Kerala Captive Elephants Rules 2012, say elephant owners shall maintain a captive elephant data book as prescribed by the Chief Wildlife Warden.
It is alleged that even though the rules came into existence in December 2012, the Chief Wildlife Warden’s office started issuing the data books right from the beginning of the year. Many say the haste was shown to legalise fake owners and it was during this particular period that many irregularities had taken place. By the Forest Department’s own estimates, of the 700-odd captive elephants only 560 have been issued data books so far.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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