Capturing rogue wild elephant Arikkomban would do more harm than good: Kerala High Court appoints Expert Committee

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday appointed a Committee of Experts (CoE) to advise the court on the nature and habits of the wild elephant, 'Arikkomban' encroaching on human settlements of the state in search of food [Re Bruno Suo Motu Public Interest Litigation v Union of India & Ors.]..Capturing 'Arikkomban', which has been creating panic among people, would do more harm than good, a division bench consisting of Justices A K Jayashankaran Nambiar and Gopinath P said.The Court said that it is aware of the instances of cruelty to captive elephants in the State, and it doesn’t want to add more elephants to the long list of hapless ‘converts’ as it also violates the fundamental duty under Article 51A (g) of our Constitution to protect wildlife and have compassion for living creatures.“In the meanwhile, however, we are quite clear in our minds that the balance of convenience would lie in protecting the interests of the wild pachyderm against immediate capture and the prospect of a life in captivity. We are persuaded to hold so because we have come across various instances of cruelty to captive elephants in the State, and also seen the deplorable state in which elephants are held captive in various locations across the State. Adding another wild elephant to that list of hapless ‘converts’ would run counter to our fundamental duty to protect wildlife and have compassion for living creatures, as envisaged under Art.51A (g) of our Constitution,” the order said.The Court, therefore, appointed the committee after hearing arguments for and against capturing the pachyderm which has been in the news for straying into human settlements, sometimes along with his herd, in the hill station of Munnar.The bench said that the objective should be to strike a balance between the conflicting interests of the residents of the localities concerned and the elephants in the area..Hence, it asked CoE to examine whether there are alternative options to prevent the elephant in question from causing disturbances in human settlements.“For finding a solution to the present situation, the CoE shall immediately, and at any rate within the next three days, convene to consider the data available with the Forest and Wildlife department of the State as regards the nature and habits of the wild elephant that goes by the name of ‘Arikkomban’,” the order said.The Court directed the CoE to submit its report on this matter by April 5.The order came to be passed in a suo motu case public interest litigation (PIL) initiated in July, 2021 regarding animal cruelty based on the news reports about the alleged cruel and inhuman killing of Bruno, a pet labrador dog, by three minors. .The counsel for the State submitted that a huge contingent of personnel from the forest and wildlife department has been deployed to keep vigil in the areas where the elephant in known to frequent, and kumki elephants (domesticated elephants which are used to prevent the other wild elephants from entering human settlements) have also been deployed to assist them.The Court said that until the report of the CoE is filed, the personnel and kumki elephants deployed by the State Forest & Wildlife department could continue to function. The Court further added that in case the elephant poses a threat to the lives of the personnel deployed, then it shall be open to them to tranquilize the elephant and immobilize it for the limited purpose of fastening a radio collar on it.That will help the personnel keep track of the animal and monitor its movements till the next date of hearing, the Court said..[Read Order]