THRISSUR: As the Kerala Elephant Owners Federation has put up billboards announcing its meet in Thrissur on November 13, the Elephant Lovers Association in Thrissur is preparing to meet the owners head on, questioning the very foundation of owning a pachyderm, using the Wildlife Protection Act against the owners, particularly targeting KB Ganesh Kumar, the Forest and Environment Minister.Apparently, the All-India Forest Minsters Meet is slated to be held on the same day. “The meet has put up a banner with the minister’s head on it, saying the federation will also be supplying elephants and the embellishments for festivals at budget rates. The Wildlife Act clearly says that monetary transaction of elephants is illegal and a criminal offence.“While we agree that Ganesh had announced he is no longer linked to the Federation, I have audio recordings of him publicly saying that he is still part of it and endorsing the same,” said V K Venkitachalam, Secretary of Kerala Elephant Lovers’ Association.It looks like the issue is becoming more than a small face-off between two organisations, since Venkitachalam has more to say on the subject. “ There was a report that the minimum distance an elephant can be transported for any purpose has been raised from 60 km to 120 km. This is quite a distance, considering that the amendment was made specifically to transport Guruvayur Padmanabhan for the festivals in the wake.The fact not mentioned, which in any case was underplayed is that Padmanabhan is 72 years old and ailing from foot sores and footmouth- disease. Normally an elephant is past its prime by the age of 50. This animal should have been retired and parked in the Guruvayur Anakkotta. The motive behind the amendment is clear, all one has to do is to read between the lines,” “Talking about the Guruvayur Sanctuary, the situation is pathetic. An elephant needs 3.5 acres in order to move around and remain healthy. At the sanctuary, there are 63 elephants at present and they have hardly 10.5 metres to manoeuvre.”
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