May consider in future if there should be complete ban on keeping captive elephants for temple duties or as beasts of burden: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on Monday observed that it may, in the future, examine whether there should be a complete prohibition on keeping elephants in captivity for temple duties or as beasts of burden (VE Shiva v. The Principal Secretary and anr)..A Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramaoorthy made the observation while disposing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that concerned measures to feed stray animals amid the COVID-19 lockdown. .The Court observed that there is little information provided on captive elephants. The Bench went on to recount that there is another petition on the issue pending before the Court wherein it had asked the State for its views on the issue. .In February this year, the Court had opined that a uniform policy should be put in place to completely prohibit future ownership of elephants by individuals or temples and to bring all elephants under the care of the Forest Department. The Court had further urged the State to come out with a plan to ensure the welfare of elephants, whether privately owned or temple-owned..Madras High Court calls for policy to prohibit future ownership of Elephants by private individuals, temples; seeks State response.Given that a petition is pending on this issue, the Court today observed that it may consider whether, in the future, there should be a complete prohibition on elephants being kept as captive elephants for various temple duties or as beasts of burden. .For the present, the Court asked the State to file a report on the welfare of captive elephants in the State to be submitted to the Animal Husbandry Department. ."The appropriate body of the State should immediately look into the well-being of the captive elephants in the State and file a report to the Secretary in the Animal Husbandry Department for appropriate measures to be taken on the basis of the report," the order stated. .The petition regarding the feeding of stray animals was disposed of in view of COVID-19 restrictions now being eased in most places in the State. .All the same, the Court pointed out that there are various suggestions that have been made for the welfare of the animals by a committee earlier constituted by the High Court to deal with feeding stray animals amid the lockdown..The Court called on the authorities to consider those suggestions, commenting that there is a need to deal with animals in a more humane manner in the State. .The Court also proceeded to ask the State, through its Animal Husbandry Department and its municipal and corporation authorities, to chalk out a plan for dealing with stray animals humanely, including when it comes to euthanising animals in distress or neutering them if their population numbers pose a threat. .Whatever the measures suggested or adopted, there should be a humane and ethical treatment of animals in the State, including in the eventualities of more COVID-19 waves or lockdowns, the Court said. .On being informed that there are excess funds and animal food, the Court clarified in its order that all such funds or feed must be used exclusively for animals in the State and for their well-being. .Appearing for the Committee, advocate Yogeswaran further informed the Court that there are already rules in place to regulate animal birth control. .Chief Justice Banerjee, however, orally expressed concern that he has personally found animals in great distress despite these rules being in place. He added that people have obligations to look into such issues without waiting for the State to step in, adding that all must learn to coexist with each other. .[Read Order]