Temple elephants taken by Forest Dept, activists cheer, but the devout distressed

In the past four months alone, foresters have acquired five private captive elephants after obtaining court orders. “Temple priests are now pleading with us, seeking our intervention, but when the Forest Department raises issues like the elephant’s social life and breeding, we really don’t have an answer to that,” said a senior HR and CE official.

According to Deepak Nambiar, consultant for animal welfare organisations, in another 20 years, all temples in Tamil Nadu will lose their elephants while those in the custody of Forest Department will fare no better. “A recent RTI petition revealed that most district elephant welfare committee members lack scientific training or education on elephants. How can we ensure maintenance of elephants now held captive by foresters?” Nambiar stated.

Arjun Sampath, leader, Hindu Makkal Katchi, pointed out that elephants have been engaged for temple rituals right from the Chola dynasty. “Seizing them from temples is certainly an assault on Hindu sentiments. If donated temple elephants are not well-maintained, steps should be taken for their rehabilitation within temple premises,” he said. However, a senior wildlife official clarified that only temple elephants under litigations have been seized following court orders.

“Temple goers and a section of priests are upset with the Forest Department but we merely follow court orders. This year, five captive elephants have been taken into custody and three more jumbos are under scanner for poor management and will soon be seized,” a Forest Department insider said.

The objective of the Department is to protect these animals when they are not taken care of, explained retired principal chief conservator of forests Rajeev K Srivastava. The foresters take possession of these animals only when the matter becomes litigation. The TN Forest Department is a front runner in handling captive elephants, he added.