Frame comprehensive policy on ownership of elephants, High Court tells T.N. govt.

The Madras Excessive Courtroom on Tuesday directed the State authorities to give you a complete coverage, after consulting specialists, for banning future possession of elephants by temples and personal people apart from guaranteeing that the welfare of the elephants already underneath personal custody was taken care of by the Forest Division.

Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy issued the interim route on a batch of 4 public curiosity litigation petitions filed by activist Rangarajan Narasimhan complaining about mistreatment meted out to temple elephants. He accused the Forest Division and Animal Welfare Board of India of failing to observe the welfare of such animals.

Referring to a video of Srivilliputtur Andal temple elephant Jayamalyatha being crushed up by its mahout and one other caretaker at a rejuvenation camp in Thekkampatti of Coimbatore district, the judges wrote that some temple elephants would possibly really not be handled nicely “as was evident from a video which went viral on the social media a few days in the past.”

Coming down exhausting on such sick therapy of animals, the Bench mentioned: “Any type of mistreatment of elephants and different animals should be handled promptly and as mercilessly as such individuals take care of the animals. Exploitation of animals for all functions ought to be stopped aside from restricted government-controlled workouts equivalent to horse-riding or camel-riding on the seashores.”

Even such rides shouldn’t be allowed to be operated by personal people because the therapy of the animals couldn’t be checked or monitored, the Bench mentioned and granted time until April 27 for the State authorities to give you complete coverage and tips on rehabilitation of all animals together with elephants which had been lured away from their pure habitats.

Satisfactory measures should be put in place to make sure that the elephants weren’t exploited any extra within the State for pleasure rides or used as beasts of burden to move heavy materials, the judges added.