ITANAGAR, Jan 25: There has been circulation in social media and other news reports that 21 elephants from Namsai District of Arunachal Pradesh have been allegedly transported to Gujarat. The same is not true. In this regard, the following clarifications are issued.
Arunachal Pradesh was generating significant revenue through timber operations/logging till the Hon’ble Supreme court imposed ban on green felling during the year 1996. Elephants were an integral part of timber operations/logging. The elephants were used to drag heavy-weight timber logs from inaccessible locations in the terrains forest areas and for loading the logs into the trucks for the purpose of transportation. After imposing the ban on green felling, the elephants in captive were mostly used for local use like fetching of firewood or dragging heavy items from inaccessible areas. Presently, the use of captive elephants further reduced with the availability of vehicles and creation of good road networks across the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Elephant is a high maintenance animal, an adult elephant requires an average daily feed of about 120 -160 kg mix of rice, gram, pulse, jaggery and other green fodder. Besides this, Captive elephants often suffer from severe health issues, including injuries, arthritis, and psychological trauma due to harsh labor, training, and prolonged chaining. The owners who are in possession of captive elephant are finding it difficult to maintain & upkeep the elephants and they are often let loose in the wild creating disturbance to the local particularly at must.
There are more than 160 captive elephants present in our State, most of it are located in Namsai Forest Division. Due to inability and non-sustainability of maintenance of these elephants, the respective owners of the elephants had approached the Radhe Krishna Temple Welfare Trust under Vantara, a renowned rescue centre for captive elephants and other wild animals managed by Reliance group. There are 20 elephants-10 males, 8 females, 1 sub-adult, and 1 calf. These elephants have been transported with the approval of the High Powered Committee (HPC) constituted by the Tripura High Court and entrusted by the Supreme Court of India with valid documents, which has conducted the physical verification of the animals with full consent of the respective owners of these captive elephants.
The Radhe Krishna Temple Trust has secured all required documentation under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, including obtaining a No Objection Certificate from the Gujarat Forest Department and a Transport Permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden, Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department as per “Captive Elephants” (Transfer or Transport) Rules 2024 was also obtained before the transportation. And accordingly the elephants have been transported in specially designed elephant ambulances.
The DNA profiling also have been done from the Wildlife Institute of India (VII), Dehradun and besides health check up before initiating the transportation Most of the elephants are sick and old aged, it is informed that, the Radhe Krishna Temple Welfare Trust at Vantara in addition to providing lifelong care for the elephants, they have offered new livelihood opportunities for the owners, mahouts, and their families at the rescue centre. The mahouts and others involved in elephant management have undergone intensive training in humane and scientifically backed methods of elephant management, ensuring a future of compassionate care for the elephants and empowering their caregivers with the knowledge and skills to support this approach. It is further informed that, a dedicated team of over 200 experts, including elephant veterinarians, para-veterinarians, senior caretakers, and ambulance drivers from Vantara, have ensured the safe and compliant transportation of the animals, strictly adhering to the transportation guidelines and animal welfare standards and all 20 elephants safely reached the rescue centre.
