Kerala High Court halts entry of elephants from other States amid concerns of captive elephant deaths

The Kerala High Court has issued an interim order barring the transfer of elephants from other States into Kerala on concerns that the condition of captive elephants in Kerala was pathetic [Walking Eye Foundation for Animal Advocacy v Union of India & ors and connected cases]..The Division Bench of Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Gopinath P observed that 154 elephants had died in captivity between the years 2018 and 2024, as they did not receive the necessary care and treatment.The Court further referred to earlier orders passed in a suo motu case which indicated that the condition of captive elephants in the State was far from satisfactory. "The condition of captive elephants in the State of Kerala is far from satisfactory and can be even termed 'pathetic,'" the Court said..In view of this situation, the Court opined that the State should hold off on permitting the entry of any elephant into Kerala from outside the State for the time being. "We feel it appropriate to injunct, until further orders, the State of Kerala and its Chief Wildlife Warden from issuing any order permitting the transfer of any elephant from outside the State into the State of Kerala under the provisions of the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024 or in any other manner," the Court ordered..The Court passed the order on a plea by a non-governmental organisation called the Walking Eye Foundation to restrain the transfer of elephants from other States into Kerala, during the pendency of a petition concerning elephant welfare. The Court noted that Rule 7 of the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024 outlined the specific requirements for transferring elephants. These requirements included the Chief Wildlife Warden’s obligation to ensure that any elephant being transferred will have improved living conditions.However, the Court found that the living conditions of elephants were not improving in the State.It, therefore, opined that an interim order should be passed to prevent any more transfers of captive elephants from other States into Kerala..The Walking Eye Foundation was represented by Senior Advocate Dhanya P Ashokan, and advocates MR Venugopal, S Muhammad Alikhan, and Anjana S Raj..In another case, the Court recently lamented that several captive elephants in the State had become money-spinning tools for owners who profit by parading these pachyderms at festivals, inaugural ceremonies and like events. Celebrating such events by using elephants is no benchmark for 'elephant love', the Court had remarked at the time while criticising a plea to use an elephant (Mangalamkunnu Umamaheswaran) with a partially paralysed trunk for a parade. .[Read Order]