Activists allege illegal transfer of elephants

Thiruvananthapuram: Animal rights activists have voiced concern over illegal transfer of ownership of captive elephants in the state.

Heritage Animal Task Force, a Kerala-based animal rights group has alleged that the ownership of elephants was transferred in violation of the directives of the National Wildlife Crime Control Bureau by private individuals and religious outfits here for clear monitory benefit.

The group has approached the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) demanding stern action against offenders.

"All the elephants transferred by private individuals and religious outfits are based on clear profits which amount to a crore as annual profit from illegal transfers," the Task Force said in its recent letter to the Inspector General, MoEF.

"We want your office to conduct a high-level inquiry into this type of wildlife crime," it said.

The activist group claimed that transfers were being made in connivance with a section of state forest officials.

Meanwhile, the group also attributed lack of proper management by authorities concerned for the high mortality rate of captive and wild elephants in the state.

More than 100 elephants, 85 of them non-captive, have died in the state in the last nine months due to various reasons, the group said.